The Demons Inside Of Us
by Unknown Anomaly
Summary: Graven was often persecuted by the color of his gray skin and hellish eyes rather than any grievous misdeeds. Conception decreed vampires as nothing more than feral creatures, persecuted for possessing a pair of fangs and glowing eyes, until Serana showed it to be a misconception. Finally, someone Graven could share something in common with: the demons that burned inside of them.
1. Chapter 1

_"He's not much for talking,"_ Serana thought. _"Is this entire trip just going to be spent in silence?"  
_

Fresh air filled her lungs, a crisp bite on each breath in. Better than the stale air in the crypt. The only thing that kept her contentment at bay was the deep crunchy snow that spilled into her boots, soaking through the material inside and out.

The cold didn't bother her so much as the chunks digging into her feet, but she was given no time to stop and fix it. She followed a safe distance behind the gray-skinned elf and focused on their trek instead of all the questions she wanted to ask. She only came up with more when they headed in the direction opposite to where they needed to go.

They climbed up to a humble abode perched atop a steep hill. A pile of logs waited on the side, with stakes in the ground to mark what seemed to be the foundation of a new section.

_"Is this his?"_ Serana wondered. _"Skyrim's changed. No mer would have owned land in my time. Just how long have I been asleep?"_

"Please remove your shoes when you enter," the dark elf asked over his shoulder.

He sounded exhausted and feeble. He never met her eyes, but he always positioned himself so that his back wasn't completely towards her. It was no secret he was cautious of her. She would be too if she killed a whole bunch of vampires only to turn around and start helping one, and his unearthed motive as to why he was stuck out like a sore thumb. She removed her boots as asked and spilled the snow out of them outside. He lead deeper into the house, where another dark-skinned elf in priestly robes came downstairs to greet them.

"Welcome home, Graven! It's good to see you again, my friend."

Finally a name she could work with.

The greeting elf's red eyes fell on Serana and his smile did as well. "And who might this be?"

"My name's Serana, good to meet you."

"Likewise. I am Erandur. Here, Graven, allow me to help with that. Are you feeling unwell? You're pale."

Graven grunted.

_"But his skin is still... gray. Perhaps he's not usually like this and has paled before we met?" _Serana wondered.

The priest may have been friendly and welcoming, but his body language screamed the opposite. He went to Graven, who took off his coat as lazy as a child coming to do chores. The calm atmosphere disappeared at the sight of blood that stained Graven's shirt down from the ribs, and the heavy metallic smell slammed Serana. Instinct pushed her forward, discipline pushed her back. She covered her nose and watched as the priest fussed over Graven, who held on to the dresser as Erandur tried to expose the wounds.

"Quickly, we must get you to the bed, Graven! Hold on to me."

Erandur looped Graven's arm around his shoulders and dragged him off. Serana followed, wracking her brain for answers. When did this happen? She never smelled or noticed when the dark elf was injured. That there were two of them here made her wonder just how much Skyrim has changed, and what kind of mer they were. The smell grew stronger and she tried to ignore the fresh spots of blood on the floor as she approached what looked to be a bedroom in the making.

"What happened, Graven? I must know what manner of wound this is." Erandur's head shot up when he spotted her entering, and this time his eyes were rife with suspicion. She knew what he was actually asking her, even if indirect. "Were you there?"

_"You mean did I do this to him,"_ Serana grumbled inwardly. "I was there, yes."

She came over, kept back by the light that pulsed from the priest's hands. Graven let out a strangled yelp and convulsed briefly, his hands slapping down to the wound. She moved into place, slinging her cloak and Elder Scroll off onto a dresser. She knelt on the bed to take and keep his hands away, where he resisted and groaned. She fought to keep a firm grip, his skin slick with sweat, slipping. She fought just as hard to keep her fangs tucked behind her lips, even when she felt them elongate and prepare, saliva pooling in her mouth.

"He appeared fine when he... freed me," she admitted. "We were separated briefly in the last chamber of the crypt, so he might have been injured by one of the draugrs."

"His wound isn't closing. Help me strip him down, I must find the root cause of what's hindering my healing."

Another yelp, even when they hadn't done anything. Graven's limbs jerked and writhed lazily, and he moaned as he thrashed about, delirious.

"Poison," Erandur murmured. "There's poison in his system." He looked up at her, and he appeared conflicted. "You stay here with him. I'll be right back with an antidote."

"I can go get it instead if-"

"By the time I tell you where it is, I'll be back with it." Erandur bolted off and she was left to keep Graven to the bed. She was taken aback by his hiss, unfocused eyes trying to set on her.

"Get your hands off me!"

"Graven, listen to me, you have poison in your-"

"Erandur! Come back, save me! The leech is going to drain my blood!"

"I'm not-"

Strength renewed by what he perceived a threat, Graven fought against her again. She couldn't lie that his fresh blood poured had lured her, and horrible ideas struck her. Part of her entertained the notion of being an actual leech, to suck the poison out of his system, but something told her the two mer wouldn't interpret such a gesture to be done out of benevolence. Erandur rushed back in with a potion in hand and helped her in her battle to keep Graven down, hands swiping over the ankles. Rope appeared out of thin air, wrapping around to tie the ankles to the bed posts.

"Help me open his mouth." Erandur bit the cork off the potion, pinching Graven's jaw to try and open his mouth, but the obstinate delirious elf squeezed his lips shut.

Serana went in and forced her fingers in, mindful not to get them bitten off. She brought one of the arms down to pin it down with her knee, yanking Graven's mouth open - top and bottom. Erandur dumped the contents of the potion in and Serana held the jaw shut.

They watched until they saw the throat bob, and Serana got out her dagger. She smelled the priest's panic in an instant and made a show to pull at Graven's shirt, cutting it up to expose his torso. Several smaller cuts marked him, and Erandur uttered a prayer to Mara as he rushed to heal every single one. To their relief, though delayed, the cuts slowly stitched shut. Graven's strength waned and his groans slowed, his eyes closing.

"Erandur," Graven croaked. The priest took his hand, squeezing. "Thank you."

"Of course, my friend. Rest now. I will handle the rest." Erandur pulled the sheets up and looked at Serana. "Come, I will show you where our guests stay."

Serana took one last look at Graven, forced to focus on her current predicament than all the questions she could no longer ask. Now she knew why she was here, at least, but both of these elves were at risk if her father sent acolytes to unearth her from her tomb.

She left the room and searched around the barren furnished home, trying to find where the priest went. She returned to the entrance. Erandur waited for her there, mace in one hand, a ball of light in the other. An Amulet of Mara hung off the arm where the light glared at her. She raised an arm below her eyes to shield them from the light, narrowing on the priest.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"You tell me, vampire. My friend wouldn't work with your kind. He stumbles in, wounded, and afraid of you. That tells me you're no friend. Did that antidote break your control?"

"He was delirious, and I hold no control over him. I wouldn't hurt him, or we wouldn't be here."

"Noted." Erandur inched closer. The image of confidence was betrayed by his underlying smell of fear. "Mara will protect me if you try anything."

"Noted," Serana sighed. "She won't need to because I won't try anything. Just put your weapon down and we can talk. I'll tell you anything you want to know... within reason."

The priest paused, and it's length was disquieting. The impasse fell when his mace did, placed back on a weapon rack. Erandur strung his amulet on his neck and led into the house, keeping his eyes on her when he passed her. He threw a couple of logs in a fireplace at the end of a long dining table, pulling his hood back as he took a seat. She went to sit across from him.

"Tell me everything you can 'within reason'," he murmured. He tucked his amulet back into his robes and clasped his hands. "Then I will show you where you may sleep."

With adrenaline gone and sense returned, there was another scent in the mix that she found peculiar. There was a daedric force that clung to this priest's soul, however faint, and she kept that in mind in case if she needed to unleash it as a weapon, to get information herself. She leaned forward to rest her elbows on the table. Erandur took his hands into his lap.

"Your friend, Graven, was it? He saved me, and he agreed to accompany me on my way home to get answers. If my presence unsettles you, I can leave now."

"Not until I know why he would agree to working with a vampire. You mentioned earlier that he freed you, and that draugrs injured him. Were you buried alive?"

Serana thought about it for a moment, sarcasm shining through. "In a manner of speaking." She wasn't really considered alive.

Erandur frowned. Humor didn't seem to be a trait of his. She cleared her throat and told him everything that was safe to tell, blaming her parents' feud for her being locked away. It wasn't a total lie. She omitted the details pertaining to the scroll, hoping Erandur hadn't remembered her taking it off in the room. It was a good thing she left her cloak so that she had an excuse to go back to the room to collect her things without suspicion.

An hour later, Serana was shown to the guest room and excused herself to collect her cloak.

It came as no surprise when Erandur accompanied her, but at least his silent accusation carried off as a check up on his bedridden friend. She wrapped her cloak around the scroll and tucked it under her arm to hide it's shape, walking over to the bed to study the young dark elf, versus the older one overlooking him.

"Are you two related?" Serana asked.

"Hm? No, not at all. He's... my only friend now. He assisted me in Dawnstar to free the townspeople of their chronic nightmares."

"Chronic nightmares?"

Nightmares of that magnitude implied the Daedric Prince Vaermina's rule.

Serana looked down at the young elf, though she wasn't overly familiar with this species of mer, and didn't trust her judgment of his age. "Is he a priest as well, then?"

Erandur chuckled, but never answered. Yet another question for another time. She needed to focus before her curiosity distracted her from her priority. Serana was politely ushered out and guided back to her guest room, where she made herself comfortable even when her mind yelled at her to just leave on her own.

She couldn't leave Graven like that. She may not have known him, but after everything he was just through, it was understandable. She wouldn't be much for chatting if she was injured, slowly deteriorating from poison coursing through her veins. She hoped his distrust was all the same as it was with Erandur, viewing her as nothing more than a dangerous creature with a worldwide reputation.

Serana shed her armor, tucked her scroll under the bed, and slipped between the sheets, rolling away to ignore the shrine of Mara that used a dresser as a pedestal. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths, surprised to find that something in the bed seemed to be infused with floral scents, mixed with that hint of daedric influence. It melted the rest of the tension in her body. She explored the soft warmth of the bed, her mind dragging her back to the cold stone wall of the crypt. The contrast was catching up to her. She went from stale air, to crisp air, to sweet air, where meats and herbs reminded her of her hunger. She settled in as comfortably as she could, but thoughts would never stop racing.

How had father found out about where she was? Was it father's acolytes, or were they mother's? Were her parents alive, or were there generations in between that had also discovered the prophecy, and her with the Elder Scroll? She needed to return home to find out what was going on anymore, and what she was to do next.

Outside the door, something crashed and drove her into high alert. The sheets were off and she strode to the door, opening it enough to peek through the small space. She watched as Erandur rushed to catch Graven, who had stumbled, his arm slung across his torso. They exchanged words too quiet for her to pick up, lost to the embers crackling in the fireplace. The elves took their seats by the dining table, and she hid behind the door when she read her name upon Graven's lips, followed by Erandur looking up, presumably to check on her. She waited a minute before she returned to watch, wondering what role the priest played as he fetched a cup and jug, pouring water. Another potion was offered to Graven, who willingly drank it. Would a priest of Mara not rely on restoration magic more than alchemy?

Serana strained to hear when Graven's lips moved, but she scarcely picked up his voice. It was low and raspy, sickly, weak. He peeled the cut flaps of his shirt apart and ran his hand on the crudely healed gash that cut across his ribs. Erandur had this brotherly scolding look on his face, and what little she heard pieced together a lecture of sorts.

"What... thinking?"

Graven's fingers found their way through his long thin hair, combing the loose strands out of his face, which he wiped with a rag. He still looked so exhausted and weary. Would he even be well enough to embark on her journey? She decided to find out for herself, for time was of the essence.

Creaks shot out and the elves looked up at her, a flash of panic crossing their faces. Graven hid a hand under the table, though it did little to belittle the burst of the fiery scent burning inside of her nostrils. She approached decisively with her hands held out to gesture she wasn't threatening.

"I heard you two and came out to check on you," Serana explained. "How are you feeling?"

Contemplation bellowed in the dark scarlet eyes, and their color reminded her of the blood she thirsted for. She forced her gaze on his lips before temptation lured her feet a step too close. Erandur, cautious as always, came around the table and offered her a tankard of water. Her mind bit out that it was not her drink of choice, but she washed it down so as not to spurn his generosity, if it was out of generosity, and not some misconception that maybe it will delay her thirst for what coursed beneath their skin.

It felt as though a decade passed before Graven finally answered her. "On the mend, thank you. Erandur told me you helped him. What would you like as compensation?"

"Nothing." Serana ushered with haste, though her tongue dried up, ready to roll 'blood' off it's tip. "I did little but restrain you."

"I would have caused myself further injury had you not. I apologize for any grievance over how I may have behaved at the time. I was not in my right mind."

_"I wasn't a fan about the leech part,"_ Serana thought. _"But__ for someone who was poisoned, injured, and proven to be a vampire slayer, that was pretty tame."_

Graven unsteadily pushed himself up to rise, his palm connected to the table as he swayed in his spot. Erandur came to his side, but was warded away by a stubborn hand.

"I'm well enough to stand." Graven's crimson eyes locked on her. It was curious how someone could look like a dremora, but not smell like one. Could they be unshackled in this era, roaming freely in this realm alongside every Nord? "I boast no heroics, so I hope you'll forgive me if I confess that I've been made painfully aware of my limits. I'm unwell enough to travel. Perhaps tomorrow may hold uplifting news?"

This kind of civility was something she was aching for back at the crypt. It was good to find out that at least they hadn't gone off on the wrong foot. Not completely.

"Forgiveness isn't necessary, I'm grateful that you're still willing to help." Serana reassured, inwardly musing. _"At what cost and for what reason, I've yet to find out." _She helped herself to another cup of water, setting the jug down as she used drinking to casually deliver her silent plea. "Although, I've questions, if you've answers."

"It depends on the question."

"And it will depend on after he gets his rest," Erandur interrupted. He gave the younger elf a stern look. "I won't hear another word, my friend. If you desire to be well enough to travel any time soon, then the remedy is to get into bed sooner than this."

_"He should be well enough to answer a couple questions,"_ Serana mused, nipping her tongue before the words came aloud.

This priest kept coming in between her and answers. Was it intentional? She bowed out when Graven looked fatigued, like his body was granted permission that he was denying.

"Where are you staying?" Graven asked. He frowned at where she pointed, and he looked at Erandur. "That's your room."

"I was told that was the guest room," Serana said, confused. Where did the priest intend to sleep if he gave her his room?

"We have no guest room," Graven explained, mirroring her confusion. He was oblivious to the hand that tugged at his elbow. "Not yet. Erandur?"

The priest sighed. "You know I would not sleep tonight."

_"Because of me?" _Serana pondered.

"One must watch over your wounds and observe if the poison is completely cleansed from your body. Now come. We must get you back to bed, you've strained enough."

"Yes, yes. Bed rest so that I don't strain my body... but my mind and tongue still work." Graven looked over his shoulder despite the unyielding priest dragging him. There was something amusing about his lack of awareness over what his friend was trying to do. "Join me, if you do not mind our rickety chairs. Then we can each play a game of questions and answers."

Serana kept her smile to herself at Erandur's frustrated look, contemplating on the offer. _"Perhaps the poison is now impacting Graven in the opposite manner, making him not of sound and rational mind on this end of the spectrum. Whatever answer he could give me could be tampered with just as much as him screaming murder over us helping him." _She shook her head and her hand to decline and pass on the opportunity. "I'm in no rush. You really should rest until tomorrow, what you've suffered was nothing small."

"I can't wait that long, I have questions I would like answers to," Graven blurted.

Erandur groaned. "Mara forgive me." He stopped dragging the obstinate young elf and passed a hand in front of Graven's eyes, who slumped to sleep in the priest's arms.

Serana chuckled and left the two to their own devices as she went back to her room, skin creepily crawling because of the shrine. She did her best to ignore it as she slipped back into bed, overcome with a wave of fatigue herself, despite it being the night. Her mind would not stop racing with memories. Memories before her family turned, where she had sailed the seas among one of the majestic ships of her father's fleet, to memories during and after. The corruption ensnared their souls and the prophecy set them against each other. Was it punishment, or justice? Whatever it was, it was poison coursing in their veins, slowly killing them from the inside.

Serana remembered of her father's rantings, her mother's snark, and the two exchanging vile words. She remembered the fear instilled in her as the lust for power and destruction grew, and all that she had ever loved had turned to dust. The ship's crew turned from seasoned sailors exchanging the occasional joke that they were lucky father was not within earshot of, to moaning mindless thralls. The garden withered and shriveled, all her hard work with mother gone to waste as Valerica locked herself in her alchemy room for days instead, until eventually she emerged with a plan to seal Serana and the Elder Scroll away.

She remembered every step leading up to that which she would be locked away in, dreading it, wondering what it would be like, and how long she would have to stand for in the cramped stone dark tomb. It was always deathly silent, only hearing the sounds of her breath, her frightened voice, and her quiet tears. She was filled with regret then, knowing she wanted no part of such a maddening plan, but she was trapped with no way out, and no way to tell time.

Now she was free, and she wanted to remember every single bit of it no matter how creepy or unsettling that cursed shrine was. She wanted to be present in the moment. She stroked the sheets, fluffed the pillow, and even contemplated on taking off her tunic so that she could feel every part of the soft mattress against her skin.

She didn't want to remember anymore. She wanted to forget.

Eventually the novelty of newness wore out, and she drifted off to sleep, remembering the quizzical crimson eyes she awoke to.

Crimson eyes she awoke to again, however much time later, blinking in surprise at the young dark elf that sat directly in front of her bed, with no thought to how treasured personal space and privacy might be to a woman. Serana shot up on her elbow and rubbed at her eyes, blinking, confused, a look Graven shared.

_"Perhaps his lack of awareness is not due to the poison,"_ Serana thought. Her lips curled upwards in a slow smile. "Can I help you?"

"Yes in fact you can, muthsera." He looked eager, his eyes burning with restless curiosity. "I still have questions I would like answers to."

_"As long as he answers mine. What does muthsera mean?" _Serana wondered, and hoped it were not some sort of derogatory slang singling out what she was, or she would be quick to put Graven in his place by singling out what he was. Whatever he was.

A groan from the corner pulled her eyes over to Erandur, who appeared as if someone had drained him dry, his ashen skin even paler than what she remembered. He rubbed his eyes before his weary head rested against the wall. "You have no idea how long he has waited for you to wake up. I've run out of magicka to keep him asleep. Please answer his questions so he can get proper rest."

Amused, Serana sat up and drew the sheets to her chest, even though she was clothed. She felt vulnerable, but there was a childish urge she heeded.

"Only if my questions get answers so I can get proper rest too."

A thud from the corner. "Both of you get this over with so I can get **any** rest from you two."

* * *

Author's Note

First off happy new years everyone, may 2020 bring you all the best and make 2019 jealous! This is my first story, so if you have suggestions on how I can improve, let me have it so I spend less time writing junk and more time learning how to write quality.

Thank you to SeraphimicDestiny with "A New Dawn" and TakingN0tes with "Bound By Karma" as your stories inspired me to sign up on here and give this a try myself. I highly recommend their stories as they build a world around their Dragonborns, not let their Dragonborn build the world aka not a godlike being at the center of the universe. I hope to take on a similar task myself and I hope readers enjoy the twists I'll be taking with Graven, who I'll say is not 100% Dunmer despite appearances. Read on to find out!_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_"What strange and curious elves," _Serana thought with some amusement. She set her wine goblet aside, courtesy of her hosts. She took the blanket to throw over the shrine of Mara, then helped herself to one of the fur pelts before she settled back into bed.

Nearly all of Graven's questions had been centered around her magic, her theories of it and her techniques when she implemented it in practice. It was a small price to pay in order to learn more about his race, though the history was largely supplemented by Erandur when Graven didn't seem to know the full depth of, of which the Chimer had been cursed with their appearance by the Daedric Prince of Dusk and Dawn, Azura.

As Serana understood it, it was the byproduct of three individuals trapped by their own greed for power, and it punished the entire race. It struck close to home for her with her own predicament with her father. Her resolve was renewed to put a stop to his plan, if he hadn't already stopped this foolishness himself.

History would only repeat itself otherwise. It took no cleverness to deduce what kind of ending vampires could expect to have, with an entire world against them.

_"And out of all of this, his burning questions were about... magic. I could have thought at least ten other things, were I in his shoes. That poison is worse than I thought." _Serana chuckled to herself. _"At least it's nice to see civility and common ground, rather than searching for reasons to try to kill me."_

Well, the priest never made any move to hide his distrust, but he wasn't the one she was worried about. He had nothing to do with freeing her, though she suspected he would not allow his friend to step out through that door with her alone from here on out. As long as Graven honored his word, she had no issues. If she did, it would pose no further issue to leave on her own. She wasn't inept.

Gradually, Serana drifted off to sleep with dread churning over memories of home.

When morning came with the sounds of life and quiet ruckus outside her door, she withdrew from the comfort of her bed and took her sweet time at it. Two prompt knocks and the door cracked open enough for a voice to come in clear.

"Good morning, Serana. Are you awake?" Graven asked.

"Yes. Come in." Serana smoothed the wrinkles of her tunic, then turned to fix the pelt on the bed. She turned at the sound of Graven's chuckle.

"I should have expected that to be a problem." His hand swung in the direction of the cursed shrine. "My apologies."

"Oh, no it's okay. This is much better than sleeping on the floor, or outside in the snow, which I expected."

Serana couldn't help but be suspicious still over the generous hospitality from one who had proven to be a vampire slayer in the crypt. Her time observing the political machinations at the castle have honed her senses to discover and exploit such maneuvers, but last night's conversation threw her in for a loop with how interested this dunmer was over her magic. What if he was seeking to be turned by her?

"My parents would have tanned my hide if I ever treated a respectable lady such as yourself in that manner." Graven rose his arm, to which there were garments slung over. "It's not much, but these are all the clothes I can spare for now. We can stop by Windhelm for a better selection, at a good price."

"Windhelm?" Serana frowned. "That's the opposite of where we need to go."

"We can take a boat from there, though. I have friends at the docks who owe me a couple favors." Graven smiled with a wink. "And Erandur hates boats."

He left the clothes on a chair and left the room at that.

Serana pondered what the elf had up his sleeve, for he had a roguish air about him weaved in mysticism. She never disregarded her instincts. Graven should have spent the day recovering in bed, and yet he concocted as many excuses as possible to do anything but. If that was restlessness showing, then at least she could relate.

She searched through the clothes on the chair and helped herself to a couple tunics just in case, but didn't change clothes. She took out her elder scroll and unraveled it from her cloak.

_"Are we leaving right now?"_ Serana wondered, and head out to her room to ask. Graven and Erandur were by the fireplace, books in tow, wine goblets in hand. She had no idea what to make of the casual situation. _"They're acting as if they host vampires every day. What if they're working with father? What if they're thralls?"_

That didn't correlate with the priest's behavior last night, but Erandur seemed prudent and quick to challenge Graven in every decision he made.

"Do you need something, Serana?" Graven asked.

She shook her head. "No, but I was wondering when you might expect to be leaving. Should I get ready now?"

"Oh, no, I must admit I'm still feeling unwell, and would like to use today to recuperate. Why don't you join us here? I have books you may find an enjoyable read."

If eyes could scowl, Serana was sure hers did when she looked at the fireplace. A shudder rolled down her spine, not from the fire, but when she looked back at Graven's eyes.

"No thank you."

She slipped into her room and closed the door, then moved as quickly and quietly as possible as she fastened her equipment on. She kept her dagger close to the front of her hip, her magic close to her palm, and frosty mist came from her fingers. She felt weakened from the shrine but that wouldn't stop her.

She should have trusted her instincts sooner.

Serana threw the rope of the elder scroll over her shoulder to sling across her chest, then clasped her cloak overtop to shield the scroll from prying eyes. Her head shot over her shoulder at the knocks at the door.

"Serana? Is everything okay?" Graven asked. "May I come in to help?"

"No, please don't. I'm undressed and changing into the clothes you've given me."

"Ah, my apologies."

She held her breath to try and listen to what was happening on the other side. Her hand ached from how hard she gripped the hilt of her dagger. The footsteps thudded away.

"Do let me know if there's anything I can assist with, muthsera."

Muthsera. It was one of her first questions that she asked him. She learned it was a term of great respect, something she figured the closest translation would be similar to sir or ma'am. But the way he said it made it sound more like he was calling her a moth, and she felt stupid for being drawn in like one to the flame that would burn her.

She wasn't going to let him win.

Serana took out her dagger as slowly as possible so it wouldn't make any noise and crept to the door. A few deep breaths, and she swung the door open to run out.

She was brought to her knees instead and cried out when agony burned into her eyes at a bright flame conjured just before her nose. She blindly swatted the hand away. Strength was drained from her in seconds. Glimpses showed an Amulet of Mara swung in front of her, that sickening radiant ball of light blazing in the priest's palm.

"You're not going anywhere." Graven smiled, still as composed and polite as ever.

He tugged her up by her wrists and dragged her over to the long table, dumping her in the chair. She hissed and bared her fangs, but it did little to intimidate him. She thrust out with her dagger but it was parried down, her arm twisted, a hand pushing uncomfortably at her elbow. Her head collided with the table and it was forced to remain there.

"Erandur, switch with me and keep her contained."

"What do you want?" Serana growled. "What do you plan to do to me?"

She couldn't move her head with the hand that kept her down, the other flashing that light in her face to keep her weak. Her arms were pulled back, rope woven around her wrists to tie her to the chair. The elder scroll strap was cut and relieved from her before her dagger clattered uselessly on the table.

Graven took his seat across from her with the elder scroll. He nodded to Erandur, and the priest let go of her head. He never moved away and stayed close with that cursed light. The younger dunmer collected books, and casually poured another goblet of wine as he smiled at her.

"I plan to let you live, but that depends if you answer truthfully. I still have questions I would like answers to, after all."

His air of innocuousness disappeared. She was sure that she saw the incarnation of Mephala and Boethiah within Graven, his smile and betrayal as sweet as his lies.

"I have no reason to believe you or tell the truth if you've been lying to me all this time," Serana spat. "Whatever you want to know, you could have just asked."

"Could I have? You chose not to tell Erandur about this scroll when you apparently told him the truth about why you were in the crypt I found you. Did you really think we'd just forget about something like this?" Graven sipped at his wine haughtily slow. When the goblet met the table, he picked up the elder scroll and she lurched against her restraints.

"That's mine!"

"Elder scrolls choose their patrons. I doubt it would have chosen a vampire."

"It's in your hands now, is it not?"

"I'm no vampire."

"You're a liar, and that's just as bad as being a-"

Graven's officious laugh cut her off. "Yes. Sucking the blood of children is as terrible as lying to a leech."

Serana grimaced at the mention of children. She wouldn't, but she knew of vampires who had. "If that were true with me, you'd have been drained dry the moment I awakened."

Graven stared, then down at his wine as he swirled it thoughtfully. "That is true." His eyes lifted from the goblet. "Though I'm no child."

"You're acting like one now. We were doing well up until this point. Let me go! We can talk about this as civilly as we had last night."

"I have no reason to believe you. You look quite angry."

"No, of course not, this is how I show happiness when I'm tied up with light burning my skin!"

Graven rolled his eyes. "Erandur, put it out."

"But-"

"She's weakened enough. The shrine did enough to her."

Graven set the elder scroll back down and came over beside her, leaning against the table. He continued to swirl the wine in his goblet, took sparing sips, and watched her back as if to gauge the likelihood of her actually telling the truth. If this kind of hospitality continued, she never would. He was proving to be an enemy and vampire slayer after all.

"Why do you have an elder scroll?" Graven asked nonchalantly, as if elder scrolls were a part of everyday life.

"Because I have one, and it's mine. It's none of your business why."

"Unless you want to stay here forever, you will make it my business."

"I'll outlast you."

Serana bared her fangs to remind the dunmers of her immortality. She flinched when Graven's goblet slammed down on the table and flames burst to life in his other palm, holding it up to her face. She tried to get away from it, but he grabbed her collar and yanked her close. She broke out in a fit of shivers as if she'd caught a fever.

What small scraps of strength she had replenished had been sucked away from her again, starving her for the one thing she wished she could just have a lap of in order to break free from here.

Glowing patterns caught her eye from the hand below and she looked, where runes were alight on Graven's arm. He extinguished the flame and shoved her back in her chair. He hopped up to sit on the table, casually resting his feet on the chair in the space between her legs. He held out his palm.

"You've given away all your secrets about your magic last night. I've written a ward for every single one." His arm glowed brighter, and the magic that wisped away from his skin had weakened her just to look at. "It won't take me much to build a ritual circle of these wards and keep you trapped in there for eternity, drained, starving and helpless, while I take the elder scroll and contact friends to find out what's on it. Your cooperation makes no difference in the end, but it will make things easier for you."

"You will not break me," Serana spat, full of loathing. "I have suffered and survived worse than this child's play."

She lurched in her chair as if she were a wild animal, fury burning hot inside of her. It wrapped around her lungs and she swore she was going to explode when the memories came rushing in.

"I'm trying to help you, Serana. I told you what my plan is. This isn't about breaking you."

"Then cease this torture and untie me!"

"Your fangs will sink in my neck the moment I do."

_"If only he should be so lucky for me to leave it at that,"_ Serana thought viciously.

This weakness was as pitiful as it was humiliating, and these dunmers would not go unpunished. Not right away. She had to concoct a plan of her own and escape.

"I can't think like this." Serana whimpered, curling in on herself as much as she could to sell her act. "Please... make it stop."

"I will after you tell me why you have the elder scroll."

_"If I tell him, he won't free me anyways! He'll think I'll want the same as father. They'll kill me whether I do or don't tell them. And why should I believe him when he's proven to be a liar?" _Serana was running out of options and she didn't have many to begin with. She had no choice. He was deceitful and dishonorable. If she wanted to survive, she had to be too.

Serana whispered nonsense under her breath.

"What was that? I didn't hear you." Graven bit the bait and leaned ever so closer with each whisper he couldn't hear.

She struck before either of them were any the wiser, sinking her fangs into the arm glowing with runes. She hadn't subjugated magic into his veins and activate the wards, but she shook her head to cause as much damage with her fangs as possible. She released before she was struck and Erandur came to his friend's side with healing magic, as predicted, and the blood that flooded her mouth, the precious seconds she had bought herself, were enough to renew her strength to break free from her feeble bonds.

Serana took the scroll and ran.

Wards stopped her before she could get very far, trapped at the door by a wretched sensation that felt like fire inside of her. She persevered, checking on her limbs to reinforce the imagery in her mind that it was all just an illusion, and she wasn't actually on fire.

By the time she had finally freed herself and made it outside to the welcome snow, her energy was gone, the rest of it sucked away by the sun high in the sky. One step further, and a crossbow bolt chipped at the snow beside her feet.

"One more step and you will see the color of your brains," Graven growled feebly.

Weary, Serana turned. They all breathed heavily, exhausted. The younger dunmer's hold on the crossbow dipped and trembled.

His eyes made it clear that it wasn't due to fatigue.

"You wouldn't," Serana murmured. The pieces fell into place the moment the words left her mouth. "You've never actually killed someone before, have you? But those bodies at the crypt..."

The ones she had seen weren't killed by magic or crossbow. Who else was there? It wouldn't have made sense if it was Erandur. The gate to leave the crypt was closed.

"You're undead, you're just like the skeletons and the draugr!" Graven yelled, but he sounded like he was trying to convince himself instead. "And you **bit** me!"

"To be fair, you were kind of asking for it," Serana muttered in her defense. "I could have done worse and you know that." She held up her hands with a sigh when another crossbow bolt was fired at the snow. As a peace offering, she tossed the elder scroll in front of her. "I told you, you could have just asked. Yes, I didn't tell your friend about the scroll, because he didn't trust me and I didn't feel like dying if he didn't like what he heard. But **you** could have asked me. You were there. You trusted me, once, at least enough to turn your back to me."

"Fine. I'm asking now. Why do you have the elder scroll?"

"Why should I trust you now?"

"I haven't killed you yet. I should."

"How comforting," Serana remarked sarcastically, nodding. "Yes, I suddenly find myself trusting you."

"I've just got one of those faces everybody loves," Graven retorted with a derisive air about him. He inched closer with his crossbow.

Erandur stayed close behind him, though seemed too fatigue to conjure magic. The priest was the first to dart out and grab the scroll before he hid behind Graven again. They were at a standstill, and the elves slowly backed up to the house. That the smell of fear could fill the chilly air and reach her here was almost embarrassing.

These two were way in over their heads and didn't actually have a clue what they were doing, did they? She had to hand it to them, they knew how to pretend to be calm and confident.

"Aren't you going to invite me in? It's rude to leave a 'respectable lady' waiting outside in the cold," Serana smirked.

Graven scoffed. "You're no lady. You're a vampire."

"And you're no charmer."

He ignored her and glanced over his shoulder. "Erandur, go hide that somewhere in the house."

"You realize that I could just kill you now and take it back, right? I'm trying to show you that you can trust me without tying me up."

"Silence, vampire! You won't seduce me!"

Serana's eyes widened over the accusation, caught off guard, and stopped herself from laughing in time. She took a chance and approached regardless, undeterred by the crossbow bolt that kicked snow up at her shins. If he were to actually hit her, it would be by pure accident with how much his aim quivered now.

"Stop!" Graven demanded. "Erandur, hurry quickly! The leech is going to bleed me dry!"

_"Again with the leech," _Serana rolled her eyes, biting her tongue to keep her thoughts inside. "I need that scroll, and I'm not leaving without it." Her insides wavered when the young elf held out his arm, where the runes glowed back to life. She kept her eyes level on his. "I'll answer all your questions on one condition."

Graven narrowed his eyes, contemplating. He adjusted his aim. "Name it."

"We do it civilly as we had last night, with wine, not rope. You may not trust me, but trust me when I say that if I wanted to, both of you would already be dead. It should say plenty on it's own that I'm still attempting to resolve this through more civil means, despite everything."

"Despite everything? You **bit** me!"

_"How long is he going to hold this over my head?__" _Serana mused, unenthused. "May I remind you that you **tied** me up?"

"You may not."

_"Wonderful. Double standards. The sign of maturity and lack thereof." _She crossed her arms and stared him down, almost amused by how much more nervous he was getting, the more his arms appeared to fatigue with the crossbow lowering.

Nobody moved even when Erandur returned. At this point, Serana suspected neither of the dunmer knew what they were doing now, or what they could do with whatever information she would tell them. The more pockets of hesitance and silence there were, the more of the underlying truth was exposed.

"You don't have a clue what you're doing, do you?" Serana confronted, and Graven's face screwed up for a moment, his skin darkening at the throat.

"Of course I do." Liar. "I'm going to get answers as to why you have an elder scroll."

"And then what?"

"And then I stop whatever you vampires plan to do with it."

"And if it's a benevolent plan, meant to benefit Skyrim?"

"You would not hesitate to tell me as such, were it true. We're going in circles like this."

Graven spun on his feet and grabbed Erandur's arm, dragging the poor priest inside before he had any chance to protest or interject. Serana boldly followed inside, shuddering in disgust when she crossed the doorway and got slammed with that wretched sensation burning inside of her again. She eyed the crossbow dumped on the dresser and followed the dunmer back into the dining hall. The elves took their chairs by the fireplace, muttering among themselves. They often glanced over at her with their suspicious eyes, and she stood at the end of the table, arms still crossed, smirk growing.

_"At least they know not to underestimate me." _Serana thought.

Part of her pondered why she hadn't just killed them already. She was still tired from this ordeal, but with that small taste of blood that promised much, she was rejuvenated more than she had walked into this house in the first place. A Daughter of Coldharbor could not let two blundering elves best her, nor did they have anything left to contribute to her mission to go home.

She needed the elder scroll back and she needed to be on her way. Why was she still playing games with these two?

Murmurs were hushed, and the dunmer had taken to writing messages to each other. The fireplace made it hard to try and focus on what may have been passed along.

Before long, Graven rose from the chair, reluctant, wine bottle in hand. He set it down on the table and fetched clean goblets. The way he dumped himself in a chair foretold how little energy he has left, despite his best appearances as he painted a smile with a flare for the debonair.

"We'll do this on your terms," he admitted, pouring wine into the goblet. "But if you bite me again, Erandur will burn you alive."

_"Somehow, I doubt he actually has the capability to, or it would have already happened.__" _Serana kept that to herself. Let them think they have the upper hand. "As long as you don't do what you did before, we'll both be fine. I genuinely believe in resolving things in a civil manner. Not all vampires are feral." She sat across from him. "Ask your questions, and I may have answers."

Graven nodded. He scooted closer on the edge of his chair. "First question: how did you get past my wards at the door?"

_"Well, now. That's irritating." _

The look was surely written all over her face by the way the dunmer had the nerve to smirk. She kept her honest thoughts locked up as she asked plainly. "Magic? Really?"

"What? It's important so that I don't fail again in the future."

"I'm not going to help you keep me trapped in here. I may as well head back to the crypt, then."

"It's not for you, it's for my own personal endeavors." Sure they were. Did he genuinely believe she was going to fall for the same trick twice? "And it's intriguing. So?"

"Did you not want to know about the elder scroll?"

"That too." Graven shrugged, his smile hidden behind his goblet. "But magic first. Spare no detail."

This was going to be a long morning.

* * *

Author's Note

Thanks for the review SeraphimicDestiny! I didn't expect it at all and it means a lot to me, that is just beyond cool that you went out of your way to do so. You're the best!

Thanks to all the readers and followers too, happy new years guys and I hope to see you in chapter 3!


	3. Chapter 3

Serana crossed her leg over her knee as she worked on her third goblet. It amused her that the younger dunmer worked hard to keep up with her, but the effects of alcohol were catching up to him. Erandur was on standby and abstained from such influences. She wouldn't make the same mistake twice and underestimate either of them.

"My turn," Serana leaned forward to get a good look at the clouded scarlet eyes. "Have you really never killed anyone before?"

Graven huffed, slurring. "Sure I have. Lots of people. Everyday. I'm a cold-blooded killer."

"You couldn't even shoot me in the foot."

"It's unwise to harm potential allies."

_"He lost a potential ally the second he tied me up." _Serana sipped from her goblet and let her amusement dance with her words. "I **bit** you."

"Yes, yes you did." Graven smiled, slanted and drunken. "Thank you for reminding me. It's good to know that even if I show mercy, you'll shoot yourself in the foot for me."

"Charming." Serana relaxed in her chair. _"Mercy? He may have fooled me once with his nice act, but he's not going to get away with it anymore." _

She finished the rest of what was left in her goblet in one somewhat ungraceful swig, aware of the low hum of her nerves. She tried to get a look at the percentage labeled on the bottle, but if Graven's state were any indication then it was safe to say it was strong wine. He took the bottle and poured another for her. Erandur didn't seem pleased about it at all. At least one of them knew how to be a proper host.

"My turn," Graven grinned. "Can vampires get drunk?"

"Graven," Erandur sighed tiredly. He took it right out of Serana's mouth.

"I don't see how this has anything to do with magic or the scroll," she stated, smirking.

"Oh come on, just answer it. Don't be a killjoy." His grin shot to the priest. "Or else you'll take Erandur's job away."

Erandur shook his head with a small smile, taking the bottle away. "You've had enough, my friend. You forget who our guest is."

"If we get her too drunk to drain me, I'll be safe!"

"I'm right here," Serana reminded, rolling her eyes as she drank. "If I wanted to feed on you, I would've done so already. I have more control over my cravings than your average vampire."

"Average," Graven echoed, and he eagerly hung forward, delighted as if he'd heard the most scandalous gossip. "Why aren't you average? Of course, no offense. No lady wants to ever be called average. But... but why aren't you average?"

For someone who was well on his way to being drunk, it was a wonder he was still sharp enough to analyze the smaller details. Their conversation was cut short when faint knocks reached their ears, and the first thing Serana noticed was how confused the dunmer looked. It seemed like they weren't expecting anyone.

Graven was swift and uncoordinated as he shot up from his chair, a stumble in every step or two. Erandur was close behind him, taking off his Amulet of Mara to wrap around his hand. Serana followed a safe distance and stuck to the shadows, electricity charging at her fingertips. Graven grabbed the crossbow off the dresser and loaded a bolt, though kept it tucked by his thigh and positioned himself in such a way that the door would conceal the weapon from their guest.

"Hello?!" Came a muffled yell on the other side of the door, accompanied by frantic knocks. "Please, is anyone there? I need help! I've been attacked by vampires and-"

Graven swung the door open, and Erandur sprang into action when he pushed his way forward and steadied the wounded stranger with a hand on the shoulder.

The sweet and rich aroma of blood hit Serana and her fangs protruded of their own free will. There was an abnormal scent attached to it though. She curled her upper lip over her fangs, no matter how ridiculous she had looked, and inspected the injuries. The stranger's clothes were shredded, blood pouring from his forehead, and he tumbled in Erandur's arms. The dunmer worked together and dragged the poor man in by his elbows.

"Quickly, to the shrine," Erandur said. His glare settled on Serana, and she pressed herself to the wall as she looked away, covering her mouth and nose.

Wind blew snow in, and she went to lock the door. The sight of her boots beside it reminded her that she had gone barefoot earlier and she glanced down, wiggling her toes. With all the fresh snow and blood dragged in, she figured it wouldn't be that big of a deal to put her boots back on. She didn't have time to wash her feet, and walking around with blood on her feet when she was starving for it didn't seem like a thrilling idea. It apparently wasn't the right call.

"What are you doing?!" Graven hissed when he ran back to her. "Have you no sense of priority? That man needs help!"

"I was under the impression that the last thing you would want is a vampire near someone who's been attacked by vampires," Serana drawled with a bite of sarcasm.

"O-oh... oh fine, nevermind then, we don't need your help!"

_"No, it's because I have a point you can't refute."_

"Erandur and I have this." He stormed back into the entrance way, tossing the crossbow back on the dresser. It accidentally discharged and the bolt sunk into the wall a few inches away from Serana's head. They both stared at it. When she glared at him, he laughed nervously and staggered off. "Carry on as you were, muthsera!"

"You could have killed me, you drunk fool!"

Serana snapped her boot buckles on with a vengeance as she marched after the younger dunmer, who stumbled faster to get away from her. She wasn't going to do anything to him, but there was a kind of sadistic pleasure in making her prey run for it's life, calling out to the baser instincts inside of her. The renewal of blood flooding her nostrils killed her chase when it realigned her priorities, and as Graven clambered up the stairs for safety, she looked into the priest's room from across the dining hall.

Erandur opened a satchel and dumped the contents on the floor, taking various dried flowers to press on wounds. The stranger cried out in pain and Erandur shushed reassuringly, muttering a prayer to Mara as he held his amulet over each injury, light erupting from his palm. Serana tore away and walked into Graven's room to shield herself from the disgusting feeling washing over her. She crossed her arms and hugged herself in defense, a major shudder ripping through her.

As a distraction, she thought of what might have happened to the poor man.

_"A traveler, or a peddler, perhaps? He wore plainclothes. How hasn't he frozen to death? He must have not been outside for long."_

Something didn't fit. Her head shot over her shoulder when she heard Erandur yelling for Graven, catching something about a seizure. Serana braced herself and came back out into the dining hall to watch from the safety of distance, stepping back when Graven tumbled back down the stairs with a bundle of satchels' straps clutched in his hand.

"I'm on my way with all my supplies, put a pillow under his head!"

Serana watched as the two tended to the stranger, but her instincts brewed a dreadful feeling in her stomach. She glanced over at the entrance way, then back at the dunmer. She walked around the table to get a closer look at the stranger, but the temptation of blood warded her away. Her stomach sank when Graven pulled on the stranger's collar and exposed fang marks on the neck. Now she knew why his blood smelled abnormal.

"Mara's breath," Erandur hissed with despair. "He's been drained, Graven. I can't replenish blood he's lost."

"He's not only been drained," Serana piped quietly. She took off her cloak and bunched it up to cover her nose, muffling. "You should get away from him."

"Get away, why? Is he diseased already? Is vampirism communicable through air?" Graven stared at her, confused. She didn't want to say it out loud in case if the stranger was pretending. She glanced around and found a parchment, dipping a quill in the inkpot as she wrote in large letters for the dunmer to see plainly.

**"THRALL."**

Both elves exchanged looks, and the way they looked at her screamed their suspicions of her. She sighed and turned the parchment over to write a new message.

**"NOT MINE."**

They still didn't believe her, but that was their loss. She couldn't save fools from being fools. She walked off and neatly folded her cloak on the table, then helped herself to her goblet of wine as she looked around the house for where the scroll may have hid. If a thrall was sent here, their master was not far behind, and it could hardly be conceived as a coincidence. They would have tracked her scent down, and perhaps even Graven's. Whoever was sent here, she needed to get to the scroll before they did.

Both dunmer let out a strangled yell and she sighed at the sounds of a struggle, not even bothering to look back as she continued to enjoy her wine. It wouldn't do for such a luxury to spoil in such a wasteful and brutish manner as this. She helped herself to another serving and smiled as sinister as she felt upon hearing Graven slewing curses in between things that sounded like they were being knocked over and breaking.

"When might you expect to have sense return over your priorities, Serana?!" That he still tried to sound so composed as if nothing was happening was icing on the cake.

"I thought you said you don't need my help?" Serana's smile grew when she got another serving of foul-mouthed words.

If neither dunmer could handle one thrall, they were so far over their heads that they would die within the hour. She let them do all the work, as they deserved to have after the way they've been treating their guests so far, and decided to walk around the house as she studied the furniture and embellishments with a finer appreciation for the handiwork behind the woven decorations.

When the fight broke out of the room and into the dining hall, she paid enough attention to be aware when to dodge thrown chairs, candlesticks and flagons. It was only when she went back to the table to grab the wine bottle that she finally intervened, when the thrall had the audacity to grab it with the intent to smash it over Graven's head. She snatched the thrall's wrist in the air and pinned it back to the table with a glare, ignoring the hopeful look on Graven's face.

All she did was wait until the thrall let go of the bottle, and then so did she, so that she could grab the wine and walk off to inspect Graven's room next.

"Oh, come on, Serana! What's it going to take? I'm sorry, okay? Can you help me now?!"

"I'm not that easy," she hummed as she poured the wine in her goblet, smirking as she closed the door with her foot. "Keep it down, will you? I'm searching for the scroll."

"I'll... I'll give it to you if you help!"

"Deal." Serana smiled, satisfied. _"Finally. It took him long enough to come around and get his 'sense of priority' right."_

She set down her drink and opened the door, stepping to the side as the thrall charged into the room backwards, anticipating to crush the elf on his back against the door. She stuck out her foot to trip the thrall and took great pleasure in the yelp that escaped Graven when they fell to the floor. She unsheathed her dagger and ended the battle in seconds as she sunk it deep into the thrall's neck until she was sure she severed the artery from the crimson gush. She summoned frost magic to her hand and held it over the cut to freeze it superficially, so that the thrall wouldn't bleed all over them as the life slipped away from his eyes. His throat bulged from all the blood collecting under the case of ice, tempting her to just sink her fangs in and relieve all that pressure. She stole one of the bed's pelts and threw it over the thrall's head when the blood began to force it's way out of his mouth.

Graven gulped for air and groaned, trapped beneath the body and pelt. Serana left him to free himself and took great care to sheathe her dagger with the blood still on it, hoping to get a tiny taste later. She knew she couldn't deny her hunger forever unless she planned to go mad and feral.

Erandur rushed in to help his friend, and together they heaved to roll off the body. Graven staggered up and held on to his dresser as he brushed his long bangs out of his face and pinned it to the back of his head, staring at the thrall in disbelief. He looked over at Serana, who waited expectantly for her end of the bargain.

"Why in Azura's name was he that strong?"

"It probably didn't help that your friend healed him up some," Serana shrugged. "Thralls don't think and fight the way we do. They're obsessed with the commands they've been given and will fight to accomplish it even if you sever a limb. I don't think they feel all that much if they do, or at least they're not as focused on it when all they want to do is carry out their master's wishes."

"So there are vampires that know we're here? Are you working with them?"

"If I were, would I have helped you right now?"

"You only agreed to after I said I'd give you the scroll."

"Which I'm still waiting for, by the way."

"Graven," Erandur murmured. "Now isn't the time. We've been compromised here, we need to leave."

"That's probably part of their plan," Serana enunciated 'their' with emphasis. "We don't know how many we're dealing with. They'll ambush you outside."

"They'll ambush us inside here anyways," Graven grumbled, limping over to where Serana left her wine and goblet. He chugged straight from the bottle, wincing and massaging various parts of his body. The priest took the bottle away with a soft scolding look, silencing Graven's protest with a shake of his head. The young dunmer sighed and rubbed the back of his head, craning his neck left and right with a grimace. "Give it to me. How bad do I look right now?"

"Worse in a minute if we don't come up with a plan," Serana cut impatiently. "They want me and the elder scroll."

"They're not getting that. You still haven't told me why your parents are fighting over it."

Serana frowned. "Because you won't let me go if I do."

"I won't let you go if you don't." For some reason Graven held out his hand, a tired smirk tugging his lips. "Care to dance in circles with me so that we tire out faster than words?"

"This isn't the time for games," Erandur sighed. He regarded Serana for several long seconds, then the thrall. He grunted as bones creaked and popped when he went over to sit on the bed, massaging his knee. They were going to end up as food if they couldn't handle one thrall. So who took care of the bodies in the crypt? "As much as it pains me to admit it, we have no choice, Graven. And if she truly wanted to, she wouldn't need the aid of her kin. She could have killed us herself and fled with the scroll long ago."

"Finally. Thank you. I was wondering how many more times I had to bring that up." Serana crossed her arms as her gaze shifted to the dunmer who continued to help himself to her wine. She walked over and took it from him with a challenging smirk, sipping from her goblet. "So? May I have my belongings back?"

Graven watched her, drawing in a breath as he brushed his hair back again. His scarlet eyes danced despite the pain. What a jaded fellow. "Only if you answer one more question."

Serana and Erandur groaned.

"This better not be about magic again," she frowned.

"No, nothing so intriguing, but perhaps justly so." Graven waved at the dead thrall. "What's to stop them from coming in here to kill us after you leave?"

"I'm the Lord's daughter, they'll listen to me if I say I've already killed you." She glanced down at the thrall, contemplating. "But... it would be wise to have a backup plan."

"This plan doesn't involve you dragging your dagger across our necks, does it?"

"It'd only be enough just to look like you're bleeding. The rest will be up to you to pretend to be dead." Serana smiled when the dunmer exchanged nervous looks.

"They'll feed on us to make sure we're not bleeding anymore and are actually dead," Erandur grumbled.

Serana set her goblet aside and crossed her arms with a challenging huff. "Well do either of you have any better ideas?"

Graven glanced down at his arm, where runes lied dormant on his skin. He flexed his fingers and looked up at her. "I do, in fact. Care to answer more questions about magic?"

Why wasn't this morning over yet?


	4. Chapter 4

_"I can't tell if I'm amused or annoyed," _Serana thought when she slung Graven over her shoulder.

Why she wondered that, was because of how impressed he looked when he pushed off her back to look over his shoulder at her, and she hopped a little to make him slip back down. His groan brought a smirk to her face.

"Are you ready?" Erandur murmured, and Serana tried not to look over her shoulder to get an arse full of the younger dunmer in her face. Weight shifted and swung, and she assumed he gave some sort of signal. The priest sighed. "Alright. Be safe, my friend. May Vaermina stay away from your dreams."

_"Vaermina? That's a little odd to wish someone." _Serana waited until she felt the full brunt of Graven's weight when he was put to sleep. She turned to Erandur. "Are you sure?"

"No. But I have learned that is what faith is about." Erandur slipped into his room and knelt before the shrine of Mara, clasping his hands in prayer. "And I have learned that I have little chance to change his mind when he's made a decision. Just... please don't let him do anything rash."

"Will you be alright here, alone? There's a chance the others might suspect there's more than just one of you in here. They could've seen you at the door."

"I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself when the need arises. The truth is, I've killed more people than I care to admit. I try not to show that side to Graven." Erandur bowed his head. "I trust you to do the same. Besides, his wards have been reinforced. I suspect they may be the reason why the thrall was sent alone in the first place and... I promised to take care of business here. Someone has to clean up this mess."

Serana frowned. These vague answers were tempting her curiosity, but they had no time. She adjusted her hold on the younger dunmer and went for the door. She stopped and looked back at Erandur, wondering how the priest could just leave everything up to chance. Did he have faith in who he worshiped, or faith in Graven?

_"Honestly, I wouldn't have faith in either of them. Mara won't intervene." _She tightened her arm around the young dunmer's torso. _"And this one's wards aren't foolproof."  
_

Well it was Graven's plan, and so it was his responsibility.

Serana opened the door and pulled her hood over her eyes to protect them from the glaring light. She looked around for shadows, but there were none. That eliminated the risk of the other vampire or lesser vampires spying on them if there was nowhere to hide from the sun. She went back down the hill and searched indirectly, careful not to let her gaze connect with her watchers. When she spotted a pair of glowing eyes from a cave, she turned and went the opposite of where she needed to go, to head to Windhelm. The sooner they got to a more populated city, the safer they would be.

Oddly enough, Graven wasn't as heavy as she thought he'd be. She still had to be careful not to exhaust herself.

Senses heightened the longer she traveled without incident. The winter roads were sparse of life. She questioned the historical validity behind the books she once read long ago, to keep her mind off the glare of the snow from the sun reflecting off of it. She was heading to the city that Ysgramor himself supposedly built. The City of Kings.

Would it be as majestic as the historians made it seem in the books? What connection did Graven have to such a city? There were so many questions Serana wanted to ask, and she hoped to get all her answers on the boat ride.

_"I still don't see the point why he's actually asleep. He could have just pretended to be, and we'd still get to talk on the way there. Why suddenly trust me to carry him there?"_

Serana got her answer when her foot sank deep into a snow bank. It threw her off balance, throwing Graven off her shoulder. His strangled yell destroyed his cover. Graven popped straight out of the snow with an offended look, which turned into a nervous one when Serana crossed her arms at him, smirking.

"Good morning, Graven. Sleep well?"

"Oh, yes. I feel recharged." He smirked back. "Feels like I've slept all day."

"Interesting, considering how it hasn't even been an hour."

"I don't mind climbing back up on there if you're good for another hour."

Serana rolled her eyes. She circled her shoulder and tugged on her cloak so it wouldn't choke her, then tapped her other shoulder to show where he was going next. "I'm going to pretend to attack you, and you're going to pretend to scream. Then I may or may not pretend to knock you out."

"May or may not?" Graven chuckled. "Does this depend if my arse is in your face again?"

"It's like you read my mind."

Serana held out her arm to the side and made a purposeful show of electricity crackling at her fingertips, then discharged it a meter away from the dunmer. There was a sinister pleasure to be had in making him jump and look at her as if he wasn't entirely sure whether she meant to pretend or not. Something about him just made it fun to scare him, a little harmless fun. It was partly his fault. He didn't tell her to stop these sorts of things and he deserved this much for the way he treated her back at his home.

"Will you stop bullying me?!"

_"Oh. There goes that." _Serana sulked inside. She smiled innocuously. "It's for pretend. And it's for tying me up."

"You **bit** me!"

"Keep it down." Serana stopped to think. She fought not to look over her shoulder and give them away for knowing of the others. "Actually, yell that louder."

Graven sucked a deep breath in. "YOU **BIT** ME!" With pleasure, it seemed. The yelling. Probably not the bite itself.

Serana hissed and sprinted for him. It ignited a predatory instinct inside of her when out of his instinct, he ran. It wouldn't help. Even in broad daylight, she caught up to him with ease and with plenty of energy to spare. In a blink, she appeared in front of him and scooped him back up on her shoulder even when he yelled and pretended to struggle.

_"Or I think he's pretending." _She looked down and watched him fight to no avail and lowered her voice. "Are you acting or not?"

Graven stopped. "Of course I'm acting."

"Of course you're not." Serana rolled her eyes. She learned quickly that whenever he sounded and appeared over-certain and cocky, it was a bluff. "I'm not going to do anything to you. We have to pretend. I don't know how many are following us."

"Did you see something?"

"Only one pair of eyes that glowed from a small cavern, but that could be anything for all I know. And there could be more."

"Seems too much of a coincidence. Falmer aren't around these parts, and over-hunting have made game scarce in these lands." Graven tried to adjust and shift on her shoulder, groaning. "Can you turn me around? You're digging into my ribs."

_"I don't really want to see his rump in my face again." _Serana grumbled inwardly. When she looked down at him again, her mind was changed for a different reason. His shoulder scantly brushed the side of her breast, and his head was in line with her pelvis. She threw him into a snow bank.

"Hey!"

"Keep quiet," she mumbled, her authority diminished. She drew her dagger when she twisted his collar and pushed him deeper in the snow. "I'm going to cut your jaw a little."

Graven's eyes widened and he hissed. "Are you mad? How can you say that with a straight face?!"

"It's just a little cut," Serana cocked her head in confusion. "You suffered worse from the thrall. If they're watching, they need to see me do something to render you unconscious."

Her dagger neared, and his hands snapped around her wrist. His pupils dilated. She almost tasted his fear and choked on the smell.

"What's wrong? Haven't you ever been cut before?"

"Something else," he blurted. "Do something else. Bite me if you have to, but don't cut me."

His eyes were stuck on the blade. He took quick, shallow breaths, and sweat gathered on his forehead in a tundra where even she could feel the chill. Making him afraid was fun, but this kind of fear wasn't. She nodded and sheathed her dagger effortlessly without looking at her scabbard. All she wanted to ask was why he would go so far as to be preferred to be bitten by her rather than a tiny cut. If this was a phobia, there had to have been plenty of times he faced that fear in the country she remembered as being ecstatic to swing swords about, even if it was just as a greeting. If that was still how one said hello in this time, he must have gone through a lot of undergarments.

"Thanks." Graven rasped, swallowing slowly. A weak grin exposed itself when his eyes met hers. "Can we pick some snowberries?"

_"Can you make sense?" _Serana wanted to scream.

She roughly pulled on his wrist and threw him up on her shoulder, facing the right way this time. His satchels came down her way and one hit the side of her head, but having his arse beside her face was infinitely better than his face too close to her** very** personal space. His thick coat chipped the awkwardness away, so that was something good to hang on to.

"Stop talking," she commanded, but not out of annoyance. She wanted to say the opposite. She wanted answers.

The faster she got to Windhelm, the faster she would get them.

Graven pretended to be unconscious again. His request plucked at her thoughts, and when the drawbridge grew in sight, she snapped off a branch and was cautious to pocket it without squishing the berries. She looked over her shoulder and saw nothing, and there weren't any hiding spots.

"Alright. I think we're safe." She tapped Graven's hamstring. "I'm going to let you down before the city guards spot us. Ready?"

"Are you sure we're safe?"

"I can't guarantee it, but I don't see where they could hide. The sun might have driven them off with no caverns around."

Serana was more than happy to let the dunmer down and circled her stiff shoulder. She tightened her hood around her face and shifted directions when her face warmed quickly under the bearing sun. _"It's even starting to get to me. I hope we get indoors soon. This is better than a cave, at least."  
_

Graven took off for the bridge without a word and she jogged after him, frowning.

"Hey, wait for me!"

"I don't want to give them a chance to attack us if there's a chance we don't see them, however small." Graven stopped for a moment. He held his palm out to her with a smile. "Can I have some of those berries?"

"Uh... sure." Serana took them out of her pocket. In seconds, the berries were popped into the dunmer's mouth and he took off again, quietly chewing away. _"Is he ever going to tell me why? Or anything else, for that matter? I still don't know why we've come here. If there are others following us, they'll attack us regardless."_

Even with misgivings, she was equally curious and excited to see Windhelm. Even when she was last awake, her parents' feud forced her last couple years back to the solitary lifestyle she grew up in. She hid her eyes from the guards they passed by, unable to get a read on many of them with their closed-face helmets. She went to the edge of the bridge to look over and spotted a dockyard of ships.

_"I hope he intends to keep his word about that part," _Serana thought, and it was cast out of her mind as soon as they were granted entrance by the city guards. The doors took their time opening, creaking and groaning. It reminded her of the dunmer. Graven flashed her a smile when they entered the city and held out his arms in a grand gesture for something that wasn't all that grand. Her waggling tongue preceded her. "I had expected Ysgramor's city to be... bigger. They used to call Windhelm the City of Kings. In my books, anyway."

Graven stared. His eyes shifted to one of the gate guards, and he dragged her off by her elbow.

"Be careful with what you say," he murmured. "The dunmer call Windhelm the city of the touchiest Nords. And not touchy in the sense you're imagining."

"I don't think I'd want to imagine it in that sense." Serana pulled away from him, taking in the sights when he lead them through alleyways. "Are we going to the docks?"

"Not yet. I have people I want to introduce you to."

That shot up a red flag.

"Introduce me?" Serana asked, amused. "To more of your vampire hunting friends?"

"Hm? No. Nothing like that, but it may still be bad news for you."

"Comforting. So who am I meeting, then?"

"My family." Graven said that so plainly, she was sure she was just hearing things.

"I think the sun is starting to get to me," she blurted. "I could have sworn I heard the most ridiculous thing come out of your mouth. Something about meeting your family?"

"It's not ridiculous." His chest thrust out with pride. That part was just as ridiculous. "Through here, follow me."

He ran down a flight of stairs and exchanged greetings with others like him. Almost every dunmer had facial features that reminded her more of dremora than anything else, with jaunt eyebrows and intense folds surrounding their eyes, their noses more like a gargoyle. Yet Graven didn't share them, with his face being smooth, his features thin. Was it an age thing like the way mortal humans get wrinkles?

"You look different than the others," Serana stated her finding upon the next dunmer they passed.

"You're different than the others of your kin too. I guess we both share something in common."

"Is this one of those moments where we're just going to dance in circles again?"

Graven laughed. "You're finally catching on, muthsera. Come. Down this way."

The unkindly smell that grew stronger the deeper they went into the alleyway reminded her of the sewers running through Castle Volkihar, and she fought not to grimace so as not to be rude. It didn't take a genius to figure out that this section of the city was likely for the poor and downtrodden. It looked that way.

Colorful red lanterns and banners decorated this quarter, skillfully hand woven, all bearing resemblance to the vibrant furnishings Serana saw in Graven's home. It seemed to bear cultural significance. She smiled and reached up to tap one of the lanterns, watching it swing as she descended the stone steps. She caught on to the dunmer's impatience when he kept looking back at her, as if wanting to say hurry up.

"Hurry up, you're as slow as a snail."

And he wasn't afraid to actually say it out loud, with some charming embellishments.

Serana rolled her eyes and jogged down the rest of the way. He had a sudden burst of energy that would have fooled anyone that he was poisoned yesterday and opened the door, rolling inside what appeared to be an empty shop like thunder. She felt an odd sensation by the doorway and approached with caution, where an even stranger sensation washed over her as if she had been granted permission to enter. A burden she hadn't known she carried was lifted off her shoulders when her feet crossed the doorway, and a whisper flew by her thoughts.

_"I passed the test of having a pure heart? What is that supposed to mean?" _Whatever it was, it felt familiar, like the wards back in Graven's home. _"That's a specific rule..."_

"Papa! Runayr!" Graven yelled. "Are you here?!"

"Graven?!"

Footsteps rumbled and a tall gold-skinned woman appeared around the corner. Serana quietly closed the door and pressed herself to the wall in the cramped space when Graven went to embrace the woman, who Serana guessed was this Runayr, one who's facial features bore a large resemblance to the significantly shorter elf. A pair of pointy ears poked out of blonde hair, and Serana figured the tall stature of an elf was none other than an altmer.

"Welcome home," the altmer whispered with a bright smile, which turned shy when her green eyes fell on Serana. "And who is this?"

"She's a vampire, Runayr!" Graven proclaimed, to which Serana lashed out at him with her eyes as she glared daggers. "A-ah... a friendly one. Relatively. Not right now, apparently, with the way she's looking like she wants to kill me." He stepped behind and used the altmer as a shield. "I may have to leave sooner that I thought I would."

He didn't sound fearful at all. He actually seemed excited.

"You brought a vampire home?" Runayr looked intrigued, studying Serana as if she were some sort of artifact.

The altmer hadn't been afraid at all to step forward, and even went so far as to take Serana's hand into hers. It was one of the most awkward and befuddling handshakes of the era, to be sure. Serana looked to Graven for guidance and some sort of answer, but was left in the dark when he just nodded to her, smiling.

_"I have no idea what's going on anymore." _Serana grumbled inwardly. _"I can't tell if people hate vampires or like them." _She put some effort in her handshake, a hesitant smile pulling her lips. "My name is Serana. Good to meet you."

"She **is** friendly!" Runayr exclaimed over her shoulder, to which Graven nodded even more voraciously. "Where did you find this one? What kind of magic does she do?"

"Magic?" Serana blurted, and a sense of horror gripped her. Wasn't Graven's questioning traumatic enough? Was she going to be subjected to it again? _"Please, I don't have time to be tortured like this again. I really need to get home sometime in this era."_

"You need to hear it yourself, her theories are magnificent and she has even been able to make it past through my strongest wards." Graven waved as he disappeared around the corner from where Runayr came from, his feet beating on creaky stairs. "Come upstairs! I will make us tea. When do you think Papa will be home?"

Runayr went off after him, both leaving Serana to stand there with half a mind to hail expletives. Whoever this altmer was, she shared Graven's horrible habit of leaving her with a thousand questions. They didn't even get a formal introduction.

Serana reluctantly pulled her hood down and followed after the two, her hand near her dagger just in case if she was about to walk into another gods-awful trap just like in Graven's home. The one thing she noticed in this shop was how many magical artifacts lied around, among more mundane things collecting dust on the shelves, and her curiosity grew evermore. When she reached the stairs, the two elves were sitting at a small table and excitedly talked away, with Graven recanting the entire truthful tale to Runayr.

With some embellishments regarding certain matters that were apparently considered sensitive to the dunmer.

"And when the thrall tackled Serana, I pulled him off and threw him down on the floor!"

"No!" Runayr gasped with a hand over her mouth. She stared wide-eyed at Serana. "Did he really?"

"Ask him," Serana deadpanned, smiling sweetly as her shot of sarcasm at Graven. "He's the most honest and brave man I've ever known."

Graven laughed nervously. He patted the spare chair and set a tankard down, grabbing a steaming teapot to pour. "Sit down, muthsera. You must tell my sister everything."

_"Sister?" _Serana gave the altmer another once-over, and paid closer attention to both of their facial features when she decided to take Graven up on his offer. She took off her cloak and slung it over the chair, then unraveled the cut rope of the elder scroll. It was snatched right from her hands by Runayr.

"Is this what I think it is?" The altmer was practically drooling. "This is an elder scroll! Graven, you found another one?"

That captured Serana's full and undivided attention. She held her hand over her tankard before Graven poured, forcing his gaze up to hers. "Another one?"

He laughed nervously and patted the chair once again. "Sit down, muthsera."

He smirked.

"My sister will tell you everything."

* * *

Author's Note

Thanks for the review both Destiny and Lammen! You are very right, they will forever deserve it after all :P their lives are going to get very difficult! I'm glad you're enjoying my interpretation of Serana, I really liked her small snippets of dry humor and sarcasm here and there. Out of all RPGs I've ever played, she definitely ranks high as one of my favorite characters, even with just one DLC of her. I think that says a lot of how well-played she was with how popular she is!


	5. Chapter 5

_"Still can't tell if I'm amused or annoyed," _Serana sighed inwardly. _"This must be a cruel joke the Aedra are playing on me."_

Objects casually floated about when the siblings used their powers to enable their laziness rather than get up and grab what they needed. Graven was scrawling all sorts of symbols on scrolls and transcribed the wards he'd written for the vampires on there before he slid the scroll across to his sister.

"If something ever happens, use this to keep them away from you, Runayr. They should repel any other vampire... barring our exceptional friend here."

"Exceptional?" Serana chuckled. She secured her elder scroll on her back and put on her cloak so that it hid it, suspicious when the siblings didn't stop her.

"He's got a crush on you," Runayr crooned with a mischievous smile, but her eyes flew away from Serana's when they met.

_"Why does she do that? She doesn't even hold Graven's gaze. From what I remember, arrogance ran in every altmer's blood."_

Graven scoffed and shook his head. He smiled away and said nothing in defense, busying himself with his scrolls. Anxiety jolted through Serana for it. That better be a tease, but she had more important things to worry about. She rose from the table and it provoked a more urgent reaction from the elves.

"I need to get going, Graven. I can't wait forever."

"The docks will charge you an arm and a leg without me."

"Then keep your word and come with me," Serana narrowed her eyes. "You said they owe you a favor."

"That they do, and I understand you'd very much like to return home... so please be patient and understand why I would like to stay in mine now that I've returned myself. I will keep my promise. All I ask is for one day, today, so that I can spend time with my family and recuperate from the poison. Erandur told me the antidote needs another two days for it to completely filter the poison out of my system."

"Poison?" Runayr asked with worry. "You didn't tell me this part."

"It's nothing," Graven waved it off. "It wasn't a big deal. I'm just a little more tired than usual."

_"Him almost dying seemed like a pretty big deal."_ Serana bit her tongue and respected his silent wish when he looked straight at her, stern.

"Not a big deal, huh? Like the time you cooked river betty with imp stool and paralyzed yourself for the day?" Runayr prodded, and Graven actually looked embarrassed.

If Serana was going to be forced to stay here, she might as well take advantage of it's perks. She sat back down and smirked sweetly at his sister, knowing that he wasn't going to tell the story. If he did, it was going to be full of embellishments like the thrall.

"Now this sounds like a story I want to hear."

"It's not the only such story you'll hear," Runayr chuckled. "I'm sure you'll even witness it yourself, someday."

Graven groaned and dumped his head on the table in defeat.

Runayr was excited to share stories, and Serana noted Graven's reaction to every one of them, particularly the stories the siblings shared in the moment with each other. There was a yearning in Serana, a lonely pull. She always wished she had a sibling. These two seemed so similar and different at the same time, sharing the same fascinations but different perspectives on it. They exchanged complex magical theories just as well as simple childish jabs at each other. It was endearing to see how different their ways were of expressing their reverence for the other.

They took a break from chatter when a door creaked open downstairs, and Runayr went to go mind the shop.

Graven gave another serving of tea. He walked around the room and inspected the different artifacts that were stored up here, some more mundane than what was displayed below. He carried his mug around with him and smiled at Serana from across the room.

"Thank you for delighting my sister about your theories. I imagine you must be quite sick of talking about magic, now."

_"Was I that obvious?" _Serana mused with amusement. She shook her head to be polite. "It's fine. I've learned quite a bit from you two, too. The rules have changed from what I remember of them, so it's important for me to know too so that my spells won't fail or combust in my hand instead. But... more importantly... tell me the truth. Are you really the Dragonborn?"

"Declared as such by the Greybeards and several dragons who have wanted to eat me, yes. I'm still learning what it means to be one, but I have no regrets. My journeys have broadened my horizons and I've been lucky with the friends I've made along them. My life used to only be lived in this Hold, where my greatest foe was earning the respect of the Nords. Now I face mystical beings and get to adventure with Skyrim's only friendly vampire."

"Only?" Serana chuckled. "I'm sure there are others like me."

"If they are, the ones I've encountered have been too busy trying to kill me, or getting others to kill me." He gestured to the teapot. "Would you like me to brew more?"

"Yes, actually. I've never had tea like this before. What's in it?"

"Imports from a dunmer settlement on the island of Solstheim. You should visit there someday, the food there is to die for. It's where I learned how to make tea like this."

Graven sorted through the drawers and took out a couple small pouches to fill the teapot with the leaves of several ingredients Serana didn't recognize. She rested her chin on her palm and smiled when the dunmer placed the teapot on a cast iron stand, where fire erupted from his palm. He held his hand below the teapot and looked at her, reciprocating her smile with confusion.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You and your sister resort to magic for the most mundane things. Why are you two so obsessed with it?"

Graven shrugged. "It brings us closer to Ama." He wrapped a rag around the teapot's handle and came to pour another serving for Serana. He wore a smile that hadn't reached his eyes. "She was adventurous, and a doting teacher. A lot of my fondest memories are of the experiments when my magic first manifested, so that I wouldn't fear it. It was the little things like lighting a candle at the snap of my fingers..." He snapped to demonstrate, and a forgotten candle in the corner of the room had burst to life. "Or levitating Ata's spoon away from him every time he reached for it." Another demonstration as she reached for hers to stir her tea.

Serana chuckled. The dunmer's smile reached his eyes, of which now danced with less reputable ideas. The spoon was returned to her and carefully lowered in her cup, stirring for her. She folded her hands and watched him for the subtleties that crossed his features. "I'm guessing Ama means mother, and Ata means father?"

"You've guessed correctly." Graven set the teapot down and took the chair across from her. He kicked his legs up on his sister's chair and swirled his tea around in his mug. He didn't appear to be in the mood to share any more than that, and Serana knew better than to press.

_"'Was' is a pretty clear answer of what's happened to his mother." _She leaned forward with her cup and waited for his eyes to meet hers, smiling. "A toast?"

"To what?"

"To magic," she answered plainly. She smiled when he was eager to toast to that.

The door downstairs creaked again, and Graven straightened in his seat when Runayr called out. "Welcome home, Papa!"

He bolted off his chair and rushed down, leaving Serana bewildered. She glanced over her shoulder and listened to the siblings spend their every breath talking about vampires. Serana hoped whoever entered the shop before was already gone. She dumped her head in her hands when the man presumably 'Ata' or 'Papa' was finally able to get a word in.

"Wait, wait, wait. There's a vampire here? Why are you two excited?! We must call the guards at once!"

Adrenaline took over and Serana rose from the chair in an instant, looking around her surroundings to see what she could use to pacify without harming, or for an escape route. Downstairs was the only way out. The siblings' rushed explanations were muted by the thundering of Serana's heart, and she grabbed a satchel in hopes to use it as a soft flail. She wrapped the strap around her fist and cautiously went to the stairs, caught off guard when another dunmer rushed up the stairs, wielding a candlestick. She launched her satchel when he tried to strike her, and the strap coiled around the candlestick to rip it out of his grip.

Graven was first up the stairs and tackled his father to the wall, the two exchanging labored words in a different tongue as they wrestled. Runayr came, and with the wave of her hand, both men fell under a calming spell. It was a matter of seconds before Graven broke out of the illusion, and the siblings guided their father to the table where tea was poured for him as if nothing just happened. Serana still wielded her satchel-flail and took a few steps closer to the stairs, glaring at Graven when the young dunmer had a comely smile that seemed to say he thought he was being cute and clever. She dropped the satchel and watched their father calmly drink the tea without a word, and the siblings appeared nervous the longer their father remained under the spell.

"Can both of you stop thinking it's a good idea to tell everyone about what I am? I'm going to get chased out of here, if I'm lucky enough to make it out alive." Serana sighed. _"Unless that's their plan, so that I wouldn't try to seek revenge if their next attempt to deal with me fails. Easier to frame someone else so that I would blame them instead."  
_

"My apologies, Serana," Runayr bowed her head and sounded sincerely remorseful. "I get excited over magic."

_"I hadn't noticed.__"_ Serana thought dryly.

"Sometimes I forget that Papa isn't as happy about it." She bowed her head further. "It won't happen again. I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Graven, on the other hand, crossed his arms and looked away. "Accept Runayr's apology," he mumbled. His sister elbowed him. Serana had the same idea.

"I will after I hear yours." Serana smirked. She took great pleasure when it came to making pride crumble. _"I wonder, is he naturally proud, or does he think he's all powerful because of him being this 'Dragonborn'? He'll learn the hard way that even the greatest kings have fallen over their own sword, if he doesn't make an effort to stay modest."  
_

Graven grumbled something under his breath.

"What was that? I didn't hear it." Serana kept a close eye on their father as she approached a couple steps closer.

"I'm sorry," Graven sighed louder as he carded his hand through his hair to fix it from the altercation. "I also got a little too excited."

"Apologies accepted," Serana beamed. She glanced at their father and thumbed at him when he remained as emotionless as ever. Eerie. "When is that going to wear off?"

"Not sure, I don't do well under pressure so I may have overshot how much magic I poured into that spell." Runayr admitted with a sheepish smile, also carding a hand through her hair.

_"Seems to be a shared tic among them both. Noted." _Serana looked over at Graven to deduce what he might have been planning next. "Well? He won't be happy if I stay here."

"I'll talk to him and smooth things out," Runayr offered. "But... it may be for the best if you left for the time being." She looked at Graven. "You, too."

"I just got home," he frowned. "Papa will be fine."

"Graven?" The new voice drew all eyes on the speaker, and Serana stepped back before the father spotted her. He looked at his children, then at the mug of tea in his hands. "Where... how? Why am I sitting here drinking tea?"

"H-how are you feeling, Papa?" Runayr asked with a nervous smile. "You aren't, um, feeling anything you shouldn't be, are you?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Why are you asking?" The father looked down at his mug. "Is Graven experimenting with our tea again?"

"No," Graven chuckled just as nervously. "There's nothing wrong here. Nothing wrong at all, of course."

_"They're both also horrible at lying. Noted." _Serana sighed inwardly. _"I'd bet it runs in the family."_

"Now if you'll excuse me, Papa, I'm going to show my lady friend here around the city." Graven motioned towards Serana, who shook her head, stopping to smile sweetly when the father turned in his chair to look at her. His eyes widened in the same instant and the way he grabbed the teapot telegraphed that he intended to use it as a weapon.

"Vampire!"

Runayr waved her hand, and calm fell once again. Both women shot Graven a look.

"Told you Papa will be fine."

"That's because I made him be fine," Runayr drawled.

"Exactly!" Graven laughed, and he whipped about the room to collect things that appeared to indicate they were leaving. He slung satchels over him, put his coat on, and quickly finished his tea. "Alright then. I'll take Serana home, I should be back in a week." He embraced Runayr, who shared it with worry. "Be well, vyruma."

"You too. Stay safe, and bring me more magical wonders."

"Of course, always." Graven rose on his toes and struggled to reach his sister's cheek. It was endearing to watch him pull her down by her shoulder, to hear her laugh, and to see them exchange kisses on the cheeks. It left a hollow pang in Serana's heart though. She pulled her hood up and said her goodbye to Runayr before she left the shop with Graven, left with more questions than the answers she expected to have when she got to Windhelm.

They went to the docks, and Serana questioned what favors Graven might have been owed when he dealt with the kind of folk that one would sooner meet in a dark alley with a brandished blade. She pulled her hood tighter around her face and turned away to face the sun when her would-be smugglers stared at her.

A hand fell on her shoulder, squeezing. She looked over at Graven. "Is it done, or should I start swimming?"

"It's done. They'll need time to prepare the ship for departure and secure passage, so it'll take a couple hours. Would you like a tour around the city? I can introduce you to my gahata, he's a brilliant alchemist. He's a little rough around the edges though."

"Gahata?"

"Grandfather." He took off without explanation, and Serana sighed. She picked up her pace as she walked after him and grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"No. No more family. Did you already forget what just happened with your father? Let's just... is there a tavern here? Let's go there."

Graven's eyebrows rose with surprise. "Is this a date?"

"What? No!"

"Mephala's breath, a vampire's asking me out. And here I thought I'd seen it all. If only Runayr saw this irony and saw how it's you who has the crush, not me."

"I'm not... stop this before I hurt you," Serana grumbled. She shoved him when he smiled and marched past him. Not out of anger, but to hide her own smile so that he wouldn't interpret that as him being right with his ridiculous ideas.

She was left with no choice but to follow him after she climbed up the stairs and entered the city, lost as to where to go next. Graven didn't make any more smart comments, but he still teased her with his eyes. She knew it, even if she didn't see it.

They entered the tavern and ordered their drinks, then grabbed a table upstairs. Serana grew nervous when she noticed how many people were glaring in their direction. She turned in her chair so that she faced the windows more, bowing her head so her hood shielded her eyes. Graven chuckled.

"They're not looking at you. They're looking at me. The Nords here don't like my kind." He leaned forward and dropped a pouch of coins on the table. "But... hold on to this just in case if you need to pay them to leave you alone."

"Pay them? I could just persuade them that trying anything would be a very bad idea."

"Threatening them will get the guards on us faster than we blink, especially if they find out what you are and, well, no offense, but they know me around here. I don't want them to do anything to my family just because I've been seen in the company of... you. We need to keep our heads down until we leave."

Serana frowned, but understood. She pocketed the coin. _"Why are the dunmer hated? Well, there's always been bad blood between the Nords and elves, but..." _She reserved her question for the boat. She glanced over when the bard began to sing, and looked down at the table when one of the bar maids carried a bucket of snow and a tray of their wine and goblets.

"Thank you serjo," Graven said when he took the tray and put it down on their table. He tipped the bar maid and off she went. He uncorked the bottle of wine and poured in the goblets before he stuck the bottle in the bucket to keep it chilled, then leaned forward with his goblet and smiled when her eyes met his. "A toast?"

Serana smirked. "To what?"

"To magic, of course." He chuckled when she rolled her eyes, clicking his goblet with hers as he revised his toast. "To a safe voyage, and to you."

"To me?"

"Yes, of course." Graven drank his wine. He took a deep breath of contentment when he was finished. "It's not easy to be different than what you're expected to be."

Serana hummed as her response. She didn't know what else to say.

_"What does he even mean by that? What expectations is he talking about?"_

There was no end to how many questions she had to ask. She was starting to forget them, but she was also starting to make her peace that there were some questions she didn't actually want the answers to, like now. She couldn't openly engage in a tavern full of people close enough to eavesdrop every single little detail, and so reserved it for the boat. For now, she was content to share wine with Graven in silence.

Until he took out a journal and quill.

"Care to answer more questions about magic, muthsera?"

Serana groaned.

_"This is the longest morning of my life."_

* * *

Author's Note

I promise this is the end of Serana's torture lol. I just wanted to tease one last time, so now it can be a cruel inside joke among us :P Thanks a bunch to SeraphimicDestiny and TakingN0tes for being inspirational with their stories, I was stuck with writer's block for the longest time and they helped me pull out of it with their work. Highly recommend checking their stories out!


	6. Chapter 6

Sea salt sprayed and the wind cut down through the bone, or at least, that was what Serana saw with the dunmer shivering like a leaf. She approached him with a smile and leaned against the ship's edge with him, looking out at the sea.

"You don't look like you're enjoying yourself," she pointed out the obvious. Her smile grew when he scoffed.

"Looks can be deceiving."

"Very," Serana chuckled. She relaxed a little more as she stacked her fists on top of each other and rested her chin on them, closing her eyes to listen to the waves.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself," Graven mumbled.

"Looks can be deceiving," she teased, but shrugged. "I like this, these sounds."

"The sounds of what, water?"

"No. Freedom. And the boat... it's like a lullaby, rocking you to sleep. I miss sailing. Sometimes, if I got lucky, I was allowed to go with the trading vessels to learn how business was conducted. Food, and such. Most times it was a shipment of weapons though. There were times blood was shed on a deal gone wrong, because of greed."

Graven hummed, and she felt his shoulder brush hers. A shadow cast over her eyes but she didn't open them.

"Why are you telling me this, Serana?"

"You seem to be the type who won't offer anything unless something is given," she admitted. Her worries lulled away with each wave that crashed against the boat. Her voice became distant to her ears. "I know we got off on the wrong foot, but I don't have anyone on the outside I can trust."

"The outside?"

Serana opened her eyes and pulled her hood back enough to fix her bangs out of her face. She sighed and forced a small smile when she looked at him. "Outside the castle."

"And you think you can trust me?" A frown struck across Graven's eyes, but didn't reach his mouth. "We attacked each other. That isn't how vampires say hello to each other, is it?"

"No." She caught his smile before he looked out at sea, and so did she. "You introduced me to your family. I think I can trust you, because you trusted me with them."

Graven hummed. He carded his hair back and scratched the scruff on his chin. "I did it because I know Runayr misses adventuring."

"And magic," Serana smirked.

"And magic," he chuckled, massaging the back of his neck. He crossed his arms on the railing and bumped shoulders with her. "Erandur was right. If you truly wanted to, you could have killed us long ago and take what you needed. Whether you reach your home a week earlier or not... I think it doesn't matter to you, so long as you get home. Is it safe to assume that?"

"It is." Serana watched him from the corner of her eyes and relaxed her chin on stacked fists. "I'll do what I have to, but I'm not like other vampires. I hope you can see that."

"I do." Graven wiped his face as if trying to knead the exhaustion away, his tired smile on display. "Might we retire to our cabin and continue our conversation there? I have to admit, these waters are making me unwell."

"Do they usually, or is it the poison?"

"Likely the poison. I've always sailed without issue." He held out his elbow and she arched her brow at him, amused. He smiled back. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You're not planning on picking out a bouquet of flowers or sacrifice a goat as some sort of tribute to me, are you?"

Graven laughed. "No, but I'm certain Runayr will skin me alive if I don't treat you with respect." He winked. "I'm also certain it is her who has a crush on you."

Serana shook her head with a nervous chuckle, and accepted his offer as she wound her hand through the space between his elbow and ribs. "You're a hard man to read."

"Is that so? I thought I've been honest this entire time."

"Mm. Particularly the part with the crossbow and wanting to kill me." Serana teased sweetly. The two descended to the ship's lower level and searched for the guest cabin. She kept her guard up around Graven the whole time. "Legends say the Dragonborn possesses power that rivals that of a true dragon, yet you didn't exercise that power with me or the thrall that attacked you."

"It's not wise to abuse power," Graven shrugged. "The Greybeards have been very strict in teaching me the Way of the Voice, and with good reason. The man who leads the rebellion, who sits on the throne of Windhelm, is one such example of power abuse. He used the Thu'um to further his own ends and killed the High King of Skyrim."

"If you wield the power, why not use it? It is no different than using a sword."

"Just because you wield a sword does not mean you should go around hacking away without being mindful of the consequences. That's where man will believe he is above the law."

"So what stopped you with me? I doubt it's illegal to kill vampires. They'd paint you a hero if they knew what you did in that cave." Serana stole a look at his face to gauge his reaction. _"I have to find out who was actually responsible for killing the others in the crypt."_

"Fame is dangerous for an elf like me. It'd attract too much unwanted attention, especially for my family. Too many would see me as a challenge instead."

"Just because you're a dunmer?"

"On the outside." His sly smile hid untold stories. She was going to hear them. He opened the door to their cabin and stripped his coat, leaving it on the chair as he made himself comfortable on one of the beds. "I can tell that dunmer history was not enough to sate your curiosity just as your magical prowess will forever mystify me."

Serana barked a laugh. "I'm not hiding any secrets, I've told you everything I know."

"About destruction. You have a certain... aura. You've studied another school of magic."

"I suppose that's for you to find out." She pulled the chair over to his bedside and made herself comfortable there, crossing her legs as she neatly clasped her hands together. "After all that I've given, I deserve to know more, and it's rude to lead a lady on. What would Runayr think?"

Graven rolled his eyes. "I had not taken you to be a person that'd fight dirty."

"As I said, I'll do what I have to."

Graven chuckled with a sigh. "Very well. Ask, and I may answer."

Serana leaned forward and poked his cheek. "You don't share all the characteristics of the dunmer, at least, not all the ones I've seen. Those wrinkles... is it an age thing?"

"Trying to find out whether I'm of age to be courted?"

She shoved him by the shoulder. "Just answer the question."

"I think you're capable of that."

Serana groaned. "You're a hard man to read **and** get answers out of."

"It was a compliment, I assure you." Graven laughed. "From what I've seen so far, you're not without intelligence. So? Tell me what you think."

"Well, Runayr's an altmer. Unless she's adopted, then your mother was an altmer and you've inherited their facial structure. That's why you look different from other dunmer."

"See? You needn't me at all." Graven closed his eyes and folded his hands on his stomach. "I should have said ask, and Serana may answer."

"Mm." Serana shook her head and smiled. "You should have."

He held up a finger. "One more question. Choose wisely, and it must be interesting enough that will keep me awake, and one you're not able to answer."

"Really, there are conditions?" Serana drawled sarcastically. "Is that all?"

"Ah ah ah, I said one question. I'll give you a free pass for those two."

_"He is something else. Why is he so guarded about himself? There's more than meets the eye with this one, that's for sure. He's hiding something." _Asking what that was would surely end in an answer that wasn't really an answer, or perhaps one cloaked in half truths if not a full lie. She wracked her brain and prioritized all she had ever wanted to ask, but there was one moment that stood out most to her. She relaxed in her chair as much as the elder scroll allowed her to, digging into her back. She thumbed at the hilt of her dagger. As soon as she unsheathed it, Graven's eyes snapped open and the crimson irises burned bright with nervousness. She balanced the blade on it's flat side. "Why are you so afraid of being cut? You had gone so far as to want to be bitten instead, and you didn't even fight me."

Something dawned on her, from what she had seen of his house. There wasn't a single blade nor axe. The only weapons around were maces, crossbows and staves. There was no way he could simplify this aversion. She put her dagger back in her sheathe so that his breath would return to his lungs, and she smiled sadly when she noticed how tightly he clutched the blanket below him.

"Forget it. You don't have to answer it." Serana rose from her chair and unclasped her cloak and left it on the desk, hiding her elder scroll beneath it. She strolled to her bed in defeat.

Graven cleared his throat. He rolled on his side, and the words came out trembling. "I'll give a hint. You probably already know Ama is... isn't with us."

Serana twisted and looked over her shoulder, but the dunmer's back was still facing towards her. There was something in his voice that made her want to reach out to him, but it felt like there was a wall between them that she couldn't breach. She stood, staring, and muttered solemnly. "Yeah." The piece she didn't want to be given had played a major role in unearthing the bigger picture. "Someone murdered your mother?"

"In front of me," he mumbled. "On my 14th summer. They..." He curled into a ball and his hands crawled up over his pointy ears. "I couldn't do anything to stop them. Instead of helping Ama, I ran away and hid. Nobody heard her screams but me. I rushed home to get Ata, but then the guards didn't let anyone in or out of the Gray Quarter and locked the city down in an attempt to find the murderer. We learned later that they weren't going to investigate, because they had no leads. When I was older, I tracked down the guards that were on duty that night and paid them for whatever information they had."

Serana came and sat on the edge of the bed. That wall was still between them, and so she couldn't bring herself to lay a hand on his shoulder. "Did you find the murderer?"

"No. But whoever it is, is a sick s'wit. My mother isn't the only victim. There have been others, each dealt with the same way, but now with the war going on... the guards have a new excuse not to investigate. The murderer targets women and cuts them into pieces, sometimes taking them. Why? A trophy, perhaps? I wish I hadn't found out, and now I know why we didn't get all of her back for burial. I can only pray her soul is safe." Graven sighed and twisted his torso, his arm bumping into her. He looked more tired than ever before. "I've been afraid of blades ever since. I know it's foolish, since it's modern culture to wave a sword around."

"It's not foolish. I would be afraid too, and to have witnessed something at such a young age is..." Serana reached without thinking and brushed a strand of hair out of his face. His dark gray skin radiated warmth, like smoldering embers. Her fingers traced the outward jaunt of his brow, her cold hand pressed to his cheek. "I hope you find who murdered her, someday."

"Preferably before another victim, but I have been forced to heed other duties. Runayr has taken up on my investigation despite my protests, and I fear for her safety."

"She can handle herself." Serana withdrew her hand when his warmth began to scald. "If overshooting how much power she invests in her spell is her problem when she's under pressure, then it's better than the alternative." They stared at each other. She smirked small. "And I sensed a ward at the doorway of the shop. I wouldn't have been able to enter had I not passed the test you hid in it. That was quite the specific rule, no? You could've warned me."

"I had to know if you possess a pure heart, even if your soul has been tainted by a darker force."

_"Wonderful. I wonder if that was the sole reason why he actually took me there." _Serana wisely kept it to herself. It seemed they both had a long way to go before either of them trusted the other. "Don't you drive off customers that way? Not everyone has one, and defining one is even more complex."

"Not my definition." Graven grinned. "The ward protects Ata from buying more pilfered goods."

"More?" Serana's eyebrows rose with amusement. "I take it that this has happened before?"

"Of course. And I always had to be creative when it came to... returning them."

_"Of course." _She chuckled to herself. _"It's like it's his favorite phrase." _Serana returned to her bed and untied the leather pieces of her armor, setting it aside her cloak. "So in other words, for all I know, I could be talking to a magical thief."

"Check your pocket."

Serana's head snapped to him, and she cautiously patted her pockets in disbelief. _"He didn't actually take it, did he?"_

Something glimmered in between Graven's fingers when it caught the glow of the lantern. He laughed when her eyes widened and flicked it off his thumb for her to catch. "Runayr and I have had to learn how to pick pockets and locks so that we could return the things Ata suspected were stolen. You're one of the easiest marks I've ever laid eyes on. Too many openings."

"When did you..?"

"When you confessed your crush on me by caressing my cheek."

Serana rolled her eyes. "Serves me right for trying to comfort you. Last time I do that." She slid her ring on to protect it from his sticky hands, and his grin widened.

"That won't help you. The art of distraction is every thief's primary tool. A kiss on the cheek is all I'll need to take that off your pretty finger."

"You don't lack confidence," Serana grumbled. An idea sparked when she looked at his ruby-red eyes, and it always brought the image of the hottest flames. She made a show of encasing her finger in ice and smirked as she wiggled it at him. "You'll need more than charm now."

Graven laughed and got off the bed, coming face to face with her. He scooped up her hand in one of his as he pulled her into a dancing stance. She made sure to keep a close eye on her ring, dancing in slow circles to no song except the sounds of the ship's groans and creaks as it rocked with the waves. She stiffened when he drew her closer, so that the sides of their heads touched. He flattened the hand with the frozen finger against his chest and she tried to pull away to see what he was doing.

"We're just dancing. I believe that's more pressing when it comes to impressing a lady," he chuckled. "Flaunting thievery doesn't exactly win hands."

"It wins what's **on** hands," Serana muttered and hesitantly relaxed her head on his shoulder, watching the room spin slowly. "Promise me you won't keep it if you take it."

"I promise. I never keep what I take, I only learned the trade to return what's been taken. An elf returning stolen goods doesn't look as good as a noble thinking they've just misplaced their jewelry in a different drawer. It's the most peaceful and risk-free solution." He pushed her closer to him with a hand on her back. "I've learned that honesty often causes more harm than good. It's a delicate balance to determine what bears the more severe consequences, whether it be a lie or the truth, and choose what is less likely to cause collateral damage."

_"Wonderful. So he hasn't actually been honest this entire time, he's just choosing when to be honest. What is he trying to gain with this dance?" _Serana couldn't read him at all. That unnerved her, for she was trained to be able to in order to decipher what someone truly wanted from her. It seemed too easy for Graven to carelessly express having any sort of crush on her, and she didn't get that feeling at all. This was as false as his initial nice act. He was a man that proved to have no qualms with waiting in the shadows until it was the right moment to strike. She would have to do the same, and played along with his little game so that she fooled him into thinking that she was caught in the spider's web, while she crawled beneath it.

"You don't look like you're enjoying yourself," Graven murmured. "I hope this is another case where looks are deceiving."

Serana let out a mirthless chuckle and shook her head. "I've never coped well with touch."

"Oh." He pulled away and held her by the shoulders with a worried look. "My apologies, it wasn't my intention to make you uncomfortable."

"I know." She smiled a smile she hadn't truly felt in her heart, but she hadn't wanted him to worry when it wasn't like he'd know of her aversion to touch just like of his aversion to blades. "Thank you for the dance, it's... been a long time since I've gotten to."

"Next time it'll be done properly with music, if you'd like to try again."

_"Next time? What does he think is going to happen when I'm back home? I doubt father is going to allow a vampire hunter to just hang around." _Regardless, Serana nodded. "We'll see when we get there." She checked her finger, confident since it was still encased in ice. She figured that if anything, he would try to use his fire magic, but at least she'd feel water if not the intense warmth.

But her ring was gone.

"What?" Her head shot up. He fell on the bed with his merry grin and the glimmering ring in between his fingers again. "How?!"

"I'll give you a hint." He flicked it back to her. He meant to play with his promise, didn't he? "**Magic.**"

Serana groaned.

_"Why isn't this day over yet?"_

* * *

Author's Note

Okay in Graven's defense, he's not asking about magic. He's just employing it now ;) there are loopholes everywhere, mwuahaha!


	7. Chapter 7

Hundreds of thoughts raced and Serana found it impossible to sleep. She turned on her side and took her straw pillow to hold to her chest, looking around the room shrouded in darkness. She wondered if Graven had any such ability to see in it as she could, and she watched him with interest.

_"I had expected him to be on guard and stay up around me, or sleep with a weapon. How has he gone from not trusting me to sleeping near me? Maybe he's that tired."_

Careless... or promising. Only time would tell. She was confident she would earn it.

The ship groaned and rocked sharply. It calmed, but not for long. Another sharp tug led to Serana shooting up, and so did Graven. An eerie hush fell. They glanced at each other, or it seemed Graven tried to look for her, and she was mildly disturbed by the ruby-red eyes piercing the darkness like a monster that waited to ambush it's prey.

_"I wonder if this is what others think of me when they see my eyes at night."_

"Something isn't right," Graven murmured. He uncovered a porthole to look outside, and Serana quietly made over onto his bed to see what he saw.

"Are we under attack?"

"Hard to say. I don't see anything out there. Dark clouds, looks like it might rain. Here switch with me." He crawled around her so that she could go up against the window.

They yelped when the ship swayed abruptly, and he took her down when he crashed into her. The bed slid when the room tilted on an angle, and they held onto the frame so they wouldn't fall off and be crushed by the bed. Serana wasn't pleased with the arm that wrapped around her waist to keep her pinned to the dunmer, and she had her suspicions when his face conveniently burrowed in her neck, but the time for accusations wasn't now. They panicked when the ship jerked the other way, and scrambled to get out of the way before Serana's bed slammed into theirs and fell over.

"Out into the hallway, we have to get up there and see what's wrong!" Serana yelled, and the two were nearly able to walk onto the wall. It was only a matter of time before water would rush into the lower levels and drown them.

"Don't forget your scroll," Graven heaved and pushed her towards the table instead so that she could grab the elder scroll. "W-wait, my coat! I can't see... where is it?"

"We have to get out of here," she urged, scrambling for the door. She swore under her breath when she glanced back and saw him crawling to retrieve his coat. _"If we're forced to go overboard and swim for our lives, that's just going to weigh him down and drown him..!"_ She acted quickly when she saw the second bed lift off it's legs, and froze them into place before it toppled over Graven.

Flames burst in his palm and lit up the room. She almost hissed at him until she realized that it wasn't to spite her, but for him to see. His eyes widened at the thick ice encasing the bed's legs and nodded in gratitude as he climbed his way towards her. The fire extinguished and reignited whenever he lost his balance, and bravely, she held out her hand for him while she clung to the doorway. He jumped the last bit and caught her wrist before the ship rolled the opposite way again, and the furniture crashed in the darkness.

"Hurry, let's go!" Serana pulled him with all her might as she used her shoulder to keep the door open. Water began to tumble in through the staircase and they leaped down, rushing on what would have been the wall if the ship were upright. Graven yelped when he stumbled and fell on his knees, soaking them in the water.

"That's ice-cold," he growled, and both his hands lit up in flames to keep close to his chest. "We're going to freeze to death if we have to jump off the ship."

"We're going to freeze to death if we have to stay on the ship," Serana muttered, though kept it to herself that she would be fine. That wasn't an option so much as it was an absolute last resort if she and Graven are forced to part ways. She refused to be the one to break the news to his family. _"Why did he have to introduce me to them?" _She didn't want that responsibility, that burden. From what she had come to know so far, she enjoyed Runayr's company and wouldn't want to see her cry.

Their family has been through enough loss and grief.

"Quickly, up the staircase before too much water comes in here!" Graven took the lead and ran forward, extinguishing one of the flames in his palm as he held onto the ceiling while he struggled to climb up the staircase that was close to coming down sideways. He blew through the hatch with a forceful fireball and natural light poured in, then turned around and clasped his fingers together as he settled in a squatting stance. "Put your foot on my hand, I'll try to drive you up as high as I can so you can jump and catch the ledge."

"Got it!" Serana took a running start and held onto Graven's shoulders, jumping the moment she felt him propel her up. She barely caught the ledge and pulled herself up, then turned and reached down for him. She gasped when the ship crashed and water sprayed. It soaked her entirely and some of it leaked down and hit Graven, who swore about the cold under his breath.

"Take my hand before more water falls in!" Serana strained to hold on as she lowered her torso, but even when Graven jumped, he couldn't reach her. He was exhausted and flustered, still recuperating from the poison, and he couldn't make it no matter how hard he tried.

Serana looked around to see what in the world was going on, and chaos unfolded before her eyes. She was so focused in her own little world that she hadn't realized there was a battle on board, and when the ship stabilized, a pirate charged at her with a scimitar. She was forced to let go of the ledge and rolled away, cautious not to call on electricity magic, opportunistic enough to use the water to her advantage as she slammed her fist down and poured her magic in to manipulate and freeze it until it made contact with the pirate. A thin layer of ice formed on his skin and expanded wherever he was wet. His cries rallied his allies, though his aid came too late when she froze him completely.

"Why are we being attacked?" Serana shouted, stealing the scimitar from the frozen pirate to parry another's strike. Frosty mist swirled at her fingertips and she danced about, parrying the pirate's blade until she drew close enough to lay her hand on him and use the water soaking his clothes to freeze him in his place. Her eyes cast up to the dark clouds that loomed over them, ready to rain any second.

With so many enemies, she had to conserve her energy. She couldn't afford to fight here, but a look at the hatch reminded her that she couldn't afford to escape either. She rushed back and yelped when Graven bumped into her on his way up, his coat on and teeth chattering. She could have sworn he was several shades of gray paler, and she knew why. She tossed her scimitar aside and grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the quarterdeck so that they could seize control of the ship's wheel before they were thrown off on the next toss.

"Don't look at them, just focus on me!" Serana yelled over her shoulder, tugging harder when his feet dragged. She cursed the sky when rain steadily collected until it poured.

"No," Graven hissed. "There are more fighting there. We can't go there."

Serana turned when he pulled back, and she held on to his shoulders, tempted to shake him. "We have to. Just keep your eyes on me, okay?"

"The other ship." Graven grabbed her wrists, his entire body shivering violently with the rain soaking him down to the bone. He jerked his head to the side. "There'll be less men there. We can board it and steal it while they fight here."

"Are you mad? Your friends will hunt you down if they find out you've left them here."

Graven scoffed. "I'd hardly call these guys friends, and getting attacked is not a favor being paid off. If they die, it'd be doing the world a favor. Let's go."

_"Loyal, he is not. Noted."_ Serana frowned but followed his lead, well, while still being the leader and dragging him farther away from blades. When a couple pirates took notice of them and advanced, she pushed Graven onto the board to descend to the other smaller ship and poured her entire magicka into creating an ice wall to stop anyone from following them, and it bought them time when she rushed after the dunmer to the ship's wheel. "Do you even know how to sail?!"

"Can't be too hard! Just turn the wheel and wait for some magic to happen, right?"

_"We're going to die." _Serana clamped down hard on the truth before it left her tongue. She couldn't afford to fall into despair, she had to think. She caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder to force his attention back on her. "It's not that easy. I need you to grab that rope over there, and turn the sails. We won't be able to turn directions otherwise."

"What, by myself?!"

Serana bit the truth harder and nodded. "I know you can do it. And when you're done, here. Come here." She rushed over to where the ends of the rope had been tied off. "I'll let you know when to stop adjusting the sail, and you need to tie it back up like this so that it doesn't swing over."

"Serana..." Graven stopped her before she ran off for the wheel, his brow only lightly furrowed as if he was trying to guard how worried he was. He wasn't fooling her with how clear it was in his eyes. "If we can't do this, you need to jump off the ship and save yourself."

"We can do this. There is no other option. Man the sails and pull with all your might, I'll steer the ship and I'll get us out of here soon. I'm just going to pull the boards so they can't come after the ice melts." Serana dashed off before she could be stopped again. They didn't have time. They couldn't afford to waste what they had. She sprinted for the first board that wasn't blockaded with an ice wall and used her magic to dispatch the first pirate she saw that tried to slide down. She grunted when she grabbed hold of the board and dug her feet in, but kept slipping from the water on deck. She propped it against the railing and pulled with all her might until the board slid and disconnected from the other ship.

_"We're lucky this is a small ship. Maybe we can manage this without a crew..." _There was only one way to find out. Serana went for the quarterdeck and adjusted the smaller top sails with ease, though it wasn't without a mild challenge. She checked on Graven and worried if he'd be able to turn the sail in time before the pirates on the other ship set down their boards. There wasn't time to run over and help him, and so she took the steering wheel, spinning it away. The boat responded aptly and groaned as it scraped away from the other ship.

Adrenaline and an addictive thrill coursed through her fingers. She searched around for a compass and opened a contained that was fixated on a stool, relieved to find one there, and closed it shut for the time being until they could be sure they were in the clear. The main sail turned slowly and she rose on her toes to check down on the main deck, where she swore she could hear Graven swearing as he strained to pull on the rope to adjust the sail.

_"Not so composed and polite now, are you?"_ Serana thought with a wicked smirk. She didn't deny her amusement for watching how hard he worked, and all for a vampire. There was a reckoning, a thunder that rumbled through the sky, or so she thought. She cringed at the volume, but her shock belittled it when she finally witnessed the power of the Dragonborn with her ears and eyes.

"Su, Grah, Dun!"

A collection of words that held no meaning to her, until she saw what it caused. Graven was imbued with speed that blurred his hands as he moved faster to pull the rope taut, the sail almost there. Now she could see why Graven was wary of such a power if all he had to do was breathe a few words to be instilled with this might. His knee buckled and he let out a strangled cry, exhausted and drenched. He slicked his hair back and looked up at the sky. _"Cursing the rain isn't going to do anything, Graven. Keep pulling..."_

"Lok, Vah, Koor!"

In an instant, the rain stopped and the clouds disappeared as if he waved a wand. Sun brightly shone and she hissed, covering her eyes. She didn't grab her cloak from the cabin. The warmth dried her skin and scalded quickly, but she had to stay focused on the wheel for as long as Graven turned the sail the rest of the way. When he began to coil and tie the rope down, she stuck the clubs through to lock the wheel and let the ship sail off on it's own as she rushed down the deck to escape through the hatch to the lower levels.

"Serana! Are you okay?!" Graven's voice wasn't distant for long, and she stumbled against the wall, gasping for air when her entire body felt as though it was going to combust into flames right there. He came up to her and grabbed her shoulders, but she pushed him away, tugging at her tunic.

"Hot," she hissed hoarsely. "I'm burning up."

"Use your frost magic to cool down." He fought past her hands and grabbed her arm to hook around his neck, dragging her down the hallway. He kicked one of the doors open and they both sprang with surprise when a pirate leaped at them from the shadows. Serana yelped when she crashed against the doorway as Graven wrestled with their attacker, and she tried to jump in to help, but both of them were exhausted and were tossed at furniture as if they were as light as rags. She felt as though as she was frying, and with nothing but willpower left to go on, she shoved the pirate away a safe distance to call on what little magicka she had left coursing through her, and sent off a bolt of electricity.

The pirate cried out in pain and for a second, his skeleton could be seen. He writhed before he fell onto the floor, where steam floated away from his twitching body. The last of Serana's strength was gone and her knees gave out under her, on the verge of blacking out. Graven scrambled over on hands and knees and wrapped his arms under her armpits to lift her up with what might he didn't have anymore, dragging her over to the bed.

"The ship, you need to go back up there," Serana mumbled. She was mildly aware of the elder scroll that was relieved from her when the strap was pulled over her other shoulder, but she was in no state to defend and fight for what was hers. All she could think of was cooling down.

"I'm not leaving you like this. Come, now, on the bed."

"We'll crash. Or they'll come after us."

"None of that will matter if you die here right now. One more push, you can do it. Help me turn you."

Serana didn't care if the bed was beneath her or not. She tried her best to at least think of frost and ice, with no magicka left to make it a reality. She clung to Graven's sopping clothes as he lowered her on the bed, grumbling. "How are you still so hot? You're soaked..."

"That's you, you're burning up." Graven grabbed her ankles and swung her over on the bed. "I only know the basics of frost magic. I can cool my hands down."

Serana nodded. She didn't know what she was nodding to. Her hands had minds of their own and all she could think about was cooling down. She tugged on her tunic and rolled it up her stomach, then took his hands and flattened it against her skin.

"U-uh... Serana..."

"Cool me down, please."

It felt like aeons passed before she could finally feel a jet of cold touch her stomach. The heavy water droplets that fell from his coat and hair were heavenly, and she had reached up with one of her hands just to bury her fingers in his frigid hair. For whatever reason, his hands wouldn't stop shaking.

_"Mm. Shy like Runayr, they really are siblings." _A content smile washed over her face when the cold expanded through her body. She took one of his hands and guided it to her neck. "Behind my neck, and my forehead. Fastest way to cool down. Nerves." She would explain later, if he couldn't figure it out on his own. He worked in silence. Sense returned, and she heated up for a different reason when her brain was finally aware of the precarious situation they were in. Her eyes snapped to him, suspicious if there were any ulterior motives, but all she saw were clouded red eyes that looked zoned out. She panicked when Graven swayed forward and reacted quickly, scooting down and out of the way when he crashed on the bed out of exhaustion.

Trembles seized his body. Of course, how foolish she was to think it was out of shyness. She was too hot, and he was too cold, and she made him cool down even more. She swore at herself and worked quickly, but first made sure he was unconscious before she drew her dagger to cut down his shirt, exposing more runes on his torso like the ones she'd seen on his arm before. She didn't dare do anything to his coat, if he was willing to gamble with his life just to get it, and wrestled it off of him before she worked on cutting off the rest of his sopping clothes. She peeled it all away until he was down to his loincloth, and she tossed her dagger aside to lift him up and transfer him over to the dry bed on the other side of the room.

"Graven? Wake up." She shook him, but it did nothing. His lips were purple. She had no knowledge of fire magic, and she suffered no delusion where she believed it would be possible for her to suddenly learn how now. She grabbed her dagger and rushed back into the hallway, kicking down the doors to the other cabins until she found two more pelts. No other pirate jumped out at her. She kept her eyes trained on the shadows just in case.

Serana returned and threw the pelts on Graven, then searched for his limbs through them and rubbed quickly. She bunched up the ends of his hair and wrung it out over the bed frame to get rid of all the excess water.

"Graven, come on... wake up." She never stopped rubbing even when her palms ached, chafed raw from the coarse fur. "I'm not going back to Runayr to say you died of the cold. How am I supposed to embellish that, like your damn thrall? There's nothing heroic about this." Frustration rose the longer she went on without a response, until his hand slipped out from the pelts and gently wrapped around her wet wrist.

"You could say I bravely offered my body heat to save you," he croaked with a tired chuckle. "Or body cold, in our case."

Her knees gave out not from lack of strength, but from relief. She dumped herself on the edge of the bed and shook her head at him, smiling when red eyes weakly blinked back to life. "You are something else, Graven..." Serana squeezed the hand on her wrist. "Stay here and make sure you've warmed up. I need to go back up on the deck to steer the ship and make sure we don't crash anywhere."

"You can't go back out there if the sun affected you that easily. You'll end up in the same situation again."

Serana frowned. How could she forget? She was still in survival mode, her priorities in chaos, and sighed. She looked at the dead pirate, and the clothes that were cut off Graven. She smirked as she pointed at the dead pirate. "You'll need to borrow his things, unless I can find something in the drawers."

Graven propped himself up on his elbow enough to peek over the edge of the bed. "Are you serious? He's just wearing pants. Are pirates allergic to shirts or what?"

"I guess so," Serana chuckled. "I'll be right back, I'll see what I can find for us to change into." She rose, but before she could leave, the dunmer's warm hand slipped down to her fingers and squeezed. It made something small flutter inside her stomach, and she wasn't thrilled by the sensation. It was strange and queasy. His lazy smile made her feel strange and queasy.

"Thank you for bravely offering your body heat to save me, Serana."

She shook her head, gave him a playful shove... and ran away.

_"He's more dangerous than I gave him credit for. Looks can be very deceiving, indeed."_

* * *

Author's Note

Su Grah Dun - Elemental Fury shout

Lok Vah Koor - Clear Skies shout

Thanks as always to SeraphimicDestiny for being a loyal reviewer, I don't know what I did to earn it but thanks for taking the time to give feedback every chapter! I hope I haven't made you feel obligated to do so because of my reviews. I really like your story and you deserve a lot more attention for it! Hope to see everybody in the next chapter and have a fabulous day :D


	8. Chapter 8

"You didn't find anything on purpose," Graven grumbled. He pointed to the sash tied around his trousers and frowned at her. "What's the point of this?"

"Fashion," she chuckled with amusement. She folded her hands in front of her mouth and made herself comfortable in her chair, nodding for flavor rather than a particular reason. "It suits you. You pull off the pirate look really well."

"Have you found an eye-patch for me? Can't be a true pirate without that and a peg leg." Graven teased back with sarcasm. He swept off bits of dirt off his bare torso and sighed. "You didn't even change. This isn't fair."

"I don't need to. The cold doesn't bother me."

"The wet does. I can see it."

"You're seeing what you want to see." Serana relaxed in her chair with a vainglorious smile, laughing when the dunmer shot her the most disgusted look she'd ever seen.

"If I go searching the cabins and find a shirt, you're in big trouble, f'lah. There is a saying: gsuron na d'lain, d'nuh na tatain."

Serana's smile grew wider. "I have a feeling you're insulting me. Do I want to know?"

"I'm not rude!" The way he said that as if he was insulted himself only made this all sweeter. "It means comfort is given, justice is taken."

"Oh? So you're going to bring down justice on me for throwing all the shirts overboard?"

His panicked look? Glorious. "You **didn't**."

"I **did**."

He groaned. "You're the embodiment of the Ouraan Dagrai."

"Ou... raan Dagrai? And were you calling me a fly earlier?"

"What? No. F'lah means friend, and Ouraan Dagrai means the House of Troubles."

_"All these words he's throwing around... is he really telling me the truth of what they mean? He's proven he has a complicated relationship with honesty." _Serana had her fill of amusement. She leaned to one side to pull out a cotton shirt she folded and sat on, tossing it over to him. His frown deepened, but he mumbled his thanks for a warm shirt. She crossed her legs and rested her chin on her fist. "What's the House of Troubles?"

"Hm?" Graven pulled his head through the shirt. It looked so baggy on his sinewy figure, and she bit her tongue to stop herself from smiling. She was curious more than she was amused. She had to keep telling herself that anyways. Graven folded the sleeves up to his elbows and tucked the ends of the shirt into his trousers, and it stopped looking like a dress on him. "You've heard of them, I'm sure. The House of Troubles are the four Daedra lords: Malacath, Mehrunes Dagon, Molag Bal and Sheogorath. The profane worship of these malevolent spirits is against the law and practice of the old Tribunal."

Nervousness settled in Serana's gut at the mention of Molag Bal. _"I wonder if he knows where vampirism stems from. Would he have knowledge of such history if they're forbidden?"_

"Long ago, they rebelled the counsel and admonition of the Tribunal, which is primarily why they were outlawed. With the Tribunal destroyed and the New Temple, or House of Reclamations, now ruling in it's place, it's more like it's discouraged to worship the House of Troubles, for they exist to test the dunmer in their various ways."

"Test them? How?"

"Well, I'm not sure how much you know of the Daedric Lords, so I apologize if I'm reiterating what you already know, but... Malacath is a weak but vengeful god, the reanimated dung that was Trinimac. He tests the dunmer for physical weakness. Mehrunes Dagon is the god of destruction and tests the dunmer's will to survive and persevere, because he is associated with natural dangers like earthquakes and floods. In a way, he represents the inhospitable land of Morrowind. Sheogorath tests the dunmer for mental weakness, and is associated with the fear other races have of the dunmer. It doesn't help clarify the matter of his worship because in half the stories, he does not betray the dunmer, and so it has always been a debate for the ages whether he is an obstacle or an ally. They neglect to think that in debating so, that is another facet of madness as it sows itself in our minds. Madness needs no reason or motivation. It just is, running on pure whim."

Serana wasn't looking forward to the last Lord. She tried to focus on how Graven groomed himself, using the reflection of the portholes to fix his wrinkled clothes and his unkempt hair. She smiled a little when he leaned forward and preened the scruff on his chin, getting his goatee to sit just right. It helped her take her mind elsewhere.

"And Molag Bal? Who is he and how does he test the dunmer?" Serana didn't know why she asked the question she already had the answer to.

Graven stopped for a moment and looked over at her. His stoic face was unreadable, but she was learning what those ruby-red eyes telegraphed, and she caught the spark of concern. He went back to the porthole reflection and spoke softly, but the word still came as a hard blow, a rock roiling in intestines. "He is the King of Rape."

It felt like someone pulled something over Serana's eyes, for a moment. The nervousness inside of her transformed into a hollow darkness. She barely heard Graven.

"He tries to upset the bloodlines of Houses and otherwise ruin the dunmer gene pool. A race of monsters, said to live in Molag Amur, are the result of his seduction of Vivec during the previous era."

Graven came and knelt before her. He reached for her hand, but stopped when she pulled and looked away. His hands fell on the seat of her chair.

"You should know that I've been tested by some of them."

Serana's eyes swept to his. She inched back in her chair when he appeared closer. "Which ones?"

"Malacath and Mehrunes Dagon. I did not heed Dagon's call for the spilled blood of an innocent scholar. With Malacath, unbeknownst I would be dragged into something greater at the time, I helped an orc tribe. When Malacath rewarded me with a warhammer, I presented it to the new orc chieftain in exchange for aid in the future should I ever need it. It is wiser to have an army of allies than one weapon I have no interest in using."

"So if you were rewarded, doesn't that mean..?"

"I use the House of Troubles and my own judgment as guidance, for it is truly the only way to pass the tests if you retain possession of your wit and your own faith. After all, the New Temple has not declared anything about the House of Troubles, but they have reinstated the reverence of three other Daedric lords: Mephala, Boethiah and Azura. The Three don't exactly paint a benevolent picture themselves. There is another saying: noa daruh su parjo oanorin. Let faith be your only law. What I believe in is my law."

"So what if a dunmer were to believe in destruction? Wouldn't the entire society collapse?"

"Is that any different than a nord bandit that were to believe in rape and pillage? If an individual threatens the balance, they are dealt with. Swiftly. That goes for both forces of good and evil. After all, the dunmer even have a sanctioned assassin's guild called the Morag Tong, and if the Three have been reinstated, then betrayal and lies are as common as honesty. As I said, one must hold fast to his or her wit and faith. That is all anyone can do, no matter the race or faith. Everything else will work out the way it is meant to be."

"That's too passive." Serana frowned. "What if you did not embrace your duty as Dragonborn? Does that mean that when everything else will work out the way it is meant to be, then the world is meant to be doomed?"

"Why argue something that has not and will not come to pass? If the world was meant to be doomed, I would not have been chosen."

_"Great. A self-fulfilling prophecy that gives plenty of room for arrogance to flourish for being the 'chosen one'."_

"I have embraced my duty as Dragonborn. That also worked out the way it was meant to, and will continue to do so. I do not think the gods would be so careless as to bestow this onto someone who would not embrace it and use it the way it was meant to."

"The gods aren't all-knowing. They can make mistakes as well, and free will can't be pre-determined by anything or anyone."

"Are you speaking from personal experience?" Graven rose, a solemn look in his eyes. "Has Molag Bal made a mistake by granting you access to a fraction of his power?"

Serana's breath caught in her throat. _"So he knows..."_ She stared long and hard, careful with her answer. She nodded. "He made an enemy the moment he did."

"Do you seek revenge on him?"

"I'm not a fool, you can't get revenge on a Daedric Lord. You can spite and annoy them but nothing more. Trying otherwise is enough to call for a champion to slay you."

"Then do you seek to spurn him?"

"What is with these questions?" Serana looked away, hugging herself out of instinct. She was set on the defensive. "I can't do anything about it."

"Can't do anything about what, specifically? Vampirism can be reversed if you desire. It's a simple process, really."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Serana snapped under her breath. "You don't know what I've been through. None of it has ever been simple." She was buzzing in her seat, and her nails dug into her arms, pushing the water out of her drenched sleeves. "But what would you know? All you've ever talked about is yourself. Typical. You're just like all the other men."

Nothing was said between them. She glanced when Graven knelt again, but only to read him and see if he was going to be a fool like the rest of them and attack her. _"I wouldn't put it past him with how he treated me at his house. He still sees me as nothing but a monster to either be slayed or cured. A puppet and representation of this 'House of Troubles', prancing as if he's benevolent himself."_

"Like all other men who have done what?" Graven asked quietly, as if with care. He wasn't going to fool her. She looked away and refused to answer. He sighed. "I seek to understand you in ways you won't reveal with words. I would not share about myself if I did not believe I would get something in return. As you said, and you were right, that I do not seem to be the type who will offer anything unless something is given."

"So what did you get in return?" Serana muttered. He was not helping her calm down with him openly admitting to such a manipulative trait.

"How you truly feel about what you are." Graven rose and offered his hand.

_"What makes him think I want his hand?"_

"And now I know how you passed my test at the shop's doorway." He smiled, and it was one that met his eyes, always the centerpiece on his face that forced her gaze to gravitate to. "Your mind is a mystical wonder, but that pales in comparison to a heart like yours. You are deserving of so much more."

"What, so you think you can give that?" Even though he didn't antagonize her, she felt that way. It was after the words tumbled out that she realized she was growing scornful from the thorn that had sunken into her. Bitterness was an unstoppable force. "Do you think you're some sort of white knight on a majestic steed?"

"I don't think I can, and I don't think I am, no." Graven's hand never wavered. "I am not like all the other men who have courted you."

_"Unbelievable. It's the same story all of them have told me." _Serana laughed. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"Why else would you bring it up, and react as you are now? As I said, I seek to understand you in ways you won't reveal with words. I have a suspicion that even if I were to ask you to tell me who you **think** you are, I would not get the answer of who you **truly **are. I suspect even you are not aware of how deserving you are." He held out his other hand, and when she still didn't take it, he took the matter in his own hands and grabbed hers to pull her into standing. She didn't have a chance to fight when they settled in that same foolish dancing stance as before. What was more frightening was that she did not want to fight it. She stiffened when he rested his chin on her shoulder, and she tried to push away.

"You're going to get cold and wet again..."

He ignored it. "That is what Molag Bal does when he infects you, coursing through your blood like a disease, vampire or no. In my opinion, he is the worst. He does not always need to violate your body in order to violate your mind. Even if you pass his test, you do not walk away as the same person prior to the testing."

"Please stop," Serana whispered. Her hands came up the sides of his arms and hooked on his shoulders. They danced to no music but their own and swayed in slow circles.

Thankfully, he listened, and so she closed her eyes to listen to everything else. She held and was held a little tighter. He was solid and lean for someone who looked so lithe. Though there was a perverse darkness surrounding both their bodies and their minds, there was a sense of kinship and understanding because of it.

Graven withdrew with a small smile and left for the door. "Thank you for the dance, Serana. When night falls and our course is dictated, we should dance again under the stars. I'm going to go check on the ship and make sure we don't crash into anything."

Serana frowned. "Will you even know what to do now?"

"It can't be too hard," Graven grinned, and he disappeared with his voice carrying down the hallway. "Just turn the wheel and wait for some magic to happen, right?"

Serana shook her head with a laughless chuckle. "You are something else."

Graven hummed a little tune while he slipped away. She held her breath to listen to his song, along with the ship's creaks and whines that shot out from his footsteps, and relaxed when the hatch to the deck whined. She moved to a different cabin and took out spare dry clothes she set aside for herself, then changed quickly in case if he returned soon. She undid her braids and combed her damp hair with her fingers, before she gave it a light shake so that it dried with some volume.

_"Volume? Why care about appearances now?" _Serana wondered, but didn't need to. She knew the answer. It didn't mean she still couldn't deny it.

She spread her wet clothes out and slung them over desks or chairs or bed frames, working away with wringing them out to dry faster. She had a smile on the entire time. Even now, without her hands on the steering wheel, there was a thrill that coursed through her for adventuring in this manner, and a huge relief to know she was alone. The crew before was nervous, which made her nervous, and she didn't like the way some of them leered at her like a piece of meat. She did them a kindness by opening her mouth to expose a fang, to make sure they didn't get any ideas with her.

Graven was different. He wasn't salivating over her body or her wealth. He salivated over her mind and her magic, which was annoying, but annoying in a nice way. It was endearing. It was just different. He was well educated for one who seemed to be a self-proclaimed magical rogue, and he did possess manners... when he wanted to.

_"Why am I thinking about him like this?"_

Another answer to be denied.

It was ridiculous. Graven was ridiculous. She was ridiculous for even considering having a crush, especially for a stranger she hadn't known apart from what she considered were mostly bad parts, like trying to kill her, for example. Resounding no. She already saw how dysfunctional that could be, thanks to her parents. But apart from all that, he seemed respectful and maybe even a little romantic, at least with the dancing thing. Graven was making an effort to share about himself, and to learn about her in his strange ways. He read into her reactions more than her words, which had some merit. She would be naive to think and say that what someone said should be taken at face value, and she needn't any experience in politics to have learned that truth. It was different to hold someone accountable and judge them based on their actions instead of their words. Even though Graven's done and said some questionable things, they've made sense. Apart from the saving Serana from the thrall embellishment. She would never let him hear the end of the consequences for that horrible lie.

The hatch creaked. Graven returned, and Serana stepped out into the hallway when he went back to the old cabin. She smirked and took a step only when he did to mask the noises the old floor made, biting her tongue when he knocked on the door before he popped his head inside. "Serana? Is it alright to come inside?"

"Boo," she whispered behind him, and laughed when he jumped in his spot.

Graven turned with a look in between sullen and scolding. His mouth opened, until his eyes fell to her new clothes. He smirked too. "Told you! The wet did bother you."

Serana rolled her eyes. "Told you so's, really? What are you, 12?"

"In reverse, yes. Anyways, I'm giving it another two hours before the sun sets. I tossed the anchor down until then, and I'll stand watch to make sure nobody tries to board us. You should get some rest in the mean time."

"Are you sure? What are you going to do? You're going to be pretty bored just sitting out there, two hours is a long time."

"Not long enough, actually. I'm going to be writing runes down as a precaution. What are the most important areas of the ship that pirates might go to first?"

"The quarterdeck where the steering wheel is, then the main sail. Just make sure that whatever you draw doesn't end up destroying those things if they're triggered."

Graven smiled as if he had something to prove, and eager to do it. "You've naught to worry, f'lah." He stepped to the side and opened the door, ushering her in with a hand on the small of her back. "All you have to do is rest. I'll wake you up when I see you in two hours." He winked, then had actually gone off running down the hallway. She froze when she heard why.

"It's a date!"

Serana groaned. "It's not a date, Graven."

He turned abruptly, his hand hanging off the hatch's handle as he grinned. He untucked his baggy shirt and ruffled his hair. "Arr, y'matey, we'll sail and dance under the stars in our obviously-not-a-date, date. And I promise I'll tell you anything you want to know about me, in exchange for your dance. Deal?"

Graven left before she could agree.

She sighed and searched for a dry bed to fall into. The smell of furs, preserved food in barrels and old wood welcomed her. Each deep breath in helped calm her restless mind. Serana did her best to quell the questions and focus on sleep.

The faster she fell to it... the faster she would see the stars, and dance under them.


	9. Chapter 9

"Something isn't right," Graven murmured. He uncovered a porthole to look outside, and Serana quietly made over onto his bed to see what he saw.

"Are we under attack?"

Motion blurred.

"Don't forget your scroll," Graven heaved and pushed her towards the table instead so that she could grab the elder scroll. "W-wait, my coat! I can't see... where is it?"

Life sped by. She blinked. She looked at the gray hand wrapped around her wrist.

"If we can't do this, you need to jump off the ship and save yourself."

Fire. Fire in her veins. She swore she was going to explode in flames. Arms hooked under her armpits and her heels dragged against the floor.

"The ship, you need to go back up there," Serana mumbled.

"I'm not leaving you like this. Come, now, on the bed."

"We'll crash. Or they'll come after us."

"None of that will matter if you die here right now. One more push, you can do it. Help me turn you."

The bed. His sopping clothes. His cold hands, his warm body, but he said that was her burning up. He helped her. Then he passed out.

"Thank you for bravely offering your body heat to save me, Serana."

Something wasn't right. He fell asleep around her with ease. He was a different man in his home.

She returned to the entrance. Erandur waited for her there, mace in one hand, a ball of light in the other. An Amulet of Mara hung off the arm where the light glared at her. She raised an arm below her eyes to shield them from the light, narrowing on the priest.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"You tell me, vampire. My friend wouldn't work with your kind."

Graven set the elder scroll back down and came over beside her, leaning against the table. He continued to swirl the wine in his goblet, took sparing sips, and watched her back as if to gauge the likelihood of her actually telling the truth. If this kind of hospitality continued, she never would. He was proving to be an enemy and vampire slayer after all.

"Why do you have an elder scroll?" Graven asked nonchalantly, as if elder scrolls were a part of everyday life.

"Because I have one, and it's mine. It's none of your business why."

"Unless you want to stay here forever, you will make it my business."

"I'll outlast you."

Serana bared her fangs to remind the dunmers of her immortality. She flinched when Graven's goblet slammed down on the table and flames burst to life in his other palm, holding it up to her face. She tried to get away from it, but he grabbed her collar and yanked her close. She broke out in a fit of shivers as if she'd caught a fever.

"You've given away all your secrets about your magic last night. I've written a ward for every single one." His arm glowed brighter, and the magic that wisped away from his skin had weakened her just to look at. "It won't take me much to build a ritual circle of these wards and keep you trapped in there for eternity, drained, starving and helpless, while I take the elder scroll and contact friends to find out what's on it. Your cooperation makes no difference in the end, but it will make things easier for you."

"You will not break me," Serana spat, full of loathing. "I have suffered and survived worse than this child's play."

She lurched in her chair as if she were a wild animal, fury burning hot inside of her. It wrapped around her lungs and she swore she was going to explode when the memories came rushing in.

"I'm trying to help you, Serana. I told you what my plan is. This isn't about breaking you."

Breaking. Bones breaking. Muscles tearing, inside and out.

"And Molag Bal? Who is he and how does he test the dunmer?"

"He is the King of Rape."

She wanted to die. She wasn't allowed to. She was broken and ripped over and over again, forced to submit, forced to be stitched back together until every single part of her belonged to Molag Bal. It didn't matter when she decreed she served him, and it was then she realized it wasn't about submission. It was domination. It was cruelty. It was tyranny. It was showing off what the Lord was capable of and making an example that could never be forgotten. Fear was struck into the heart of every servant so that they knew what awaited them should they ever dare disobey and betray Molag Bal. Her family was happy, before Him. Why did they succumb to Him in the first place?

"Why do you have an elder scroll?" Graven asked nonchalantly, as if elder scrolls were a part of everyday life.

"Because I have one, and it's mine. It's none of your business why." A deflection. A roundabout answer that probably proved to Graven that she had no other legitimate answer.

"Elder scrolls choose their patrons. I doubt it would have chosen a vampire."

"It's in your hands now, is it not?"

Graven was able to hold the elder scroll. He handled it as if he handled one before, and it was said that scrolls had a hand in fate. Was it possible that it had chosen Graven as it's patron, and she as the messenger? Was it possible for it to choose more than one patron? He shouldn't have been able to lay a hand on it otherwise, even if it were subconsciously. The elder scroll was his goal, wasn't it? Was that why he was so trusting and selfless? Was it his nice act, fooling her again? Why would the scroll allow such a deceptive person to touch it?

Father was able to once. What did that say? Maybe elder scrolls didn't always have benevolent intentions. Maybe it was the delicate balance Graven spoke of, where malevolence was necessary if there was too much good, and so chaos must be sowed. So if patrons were chosen, who was it? What was her part to play?

"Don't forget your scroll," Graven heaved and pushed her towards the table instead.

She watched herself grab her elder scroll.

Serana opened her eyes. She slowly looked around the room that was swallowed in darkness, but she could make out the furniture crystal clear. She pushed her sheets down and sat up on her knees to look through the porthole, smiling at the sea of stars in the sky. She got ready and smoothed the wrinkles out her clothes to head out, until she saw something on the other bed that wasn't there before. A hide-bound journal. She opened it. Her eyes widened, and she laughed.

Drawn on the first page were a bouquet of flowers. On the page next to it was a crude drawing of what she assumed was possibly a goat. She shook her head and snapped the journal shut, tapping it against her lips. Based on the smell, it seemed to belong to the pirates before. The coarse hide scratched a little and smelled old with a strong odor of fish. It reminded her that she hadn't fed in a very long time, even before being sealed away at the crypt. Meditation could only help so much before that hunger turned into ever-present starvation, clawing at her bones. Worse yet, the only person around to feed on was Graven. It wasn't an option. She had to get them to the island and away from him as soon as possible before the next time she woke up, covered in his blood.

Serana opened the journal again to cling to his ridiculousness, and smiled. She stroked an edge and it smeared a little. The drawing was fresh. She turned the next page and laughed again. _"The stars are beautiful tonight,"_ she read inwardly. _"I invite you to a bottle of wine or two, or five, paired with a dance on our obviously-not-a-date date tonight."_

Graven was a mystery, even though he was so forthcoming. It was a tactic she became acquainted with in his home, and a tactic she had trouble ignoring. Her gut feeling warned there was something being planned in between the lines of his message. Why was he so interested in her? If it was genuine, he fell a little too quickly, in her opinion. She didn't see anything magnificent about herself to warrant this kind of behavior, and she must have looked hideous, wearing these pirate rags that were much too large on her. Maybe he didn't have too many friends growing up because of his appearance, and wasn't particularly selective as a result. She could relate to the loneliness.

Serana tucked the front of her may-have-been-white-once shirt in her trousers and took out her dagger to cut away the seams that stuck out in her clothes. She folded the sleeves, though they still hung loosely at her elbows, and she gave up trying to make herself look decent.

_"Why? This isn't a date, no matter how hard that man tries to convince himself."_

She took the journal with her and left her cabin, poking her head in the one where she left her clothes to dry. They still looked damp. She sighed and left for the upper deck. When the hatch opened and she crawled up, she was surprised to see Graven on the ground, arms and legs spread wide. His head snapped to her, his eyes shining bright with the stars illuminating them.

_"They look... puffy. Why?"_

"Ju'rohn, Sera," Graven grinned. He came up to sit, and his hands wiped up his face before he mocked the fakest yawn she'd ever heard. "I've decided Sera is better than F'lah. It's a term of respect in dunmeri and usually used for women, and it's a nice little short form of Serana. Perfect, right? Like it was meant to be."

He had a strange definition of what was considered perfect.

"One extra syllable is too much for you, hm?" Serana teased, and sighed when he shrugged. He laid back down. She didn't know where to go, and so stepped over him, looking down with amusement that seemed to be shared as he stared up at her. "And what's ju'rohn?"

"It's a greeting. There's no accurate translation into Tamrielic." His eyes swiveled to the journal in her hand and he shot up into standing and... curtsied.

She chuckled. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? Curtsying to woo you."

The admission caught her off guard. She stared, stunned, and that feeling in her gut expanded to her soul. She frowned. "And what are you actually doing?"

"Pointing out the obvious, of course." Graven smirked wickedly when he came back up. His smile fell. "Oh. You don't believe me." He looked around the ship and ran off towards the quarterdeck. When he didn't come back, she gathered her wits and followed with caution. She stumbled back when he popped around the corner with a bottle of wine. "Here, this will help."

A smile tugged at the corners of her lips but she refused to enable it. "Getting me drunk will help me believe you?"

"No, getting **me** drunk will help you believe me." He worked off the cork and they both jumped at the pop, sharing chuckles when it shot over and rebounded off the steering wheel.

Serana looked around and soaked it all in. The still water. The moonlight that reflected off of it. The silence, apart from the waves that lapped at the small ship, and the gentle breeze that licked the sails. There was nothing around for as far as the eye could see except for them. Fresh air filled her lungs with every breath, and the stars were a sight she couldn't look away from, until she was given reason to.

"I only found some mugs instead of goblets, I hope that won't be a problem for you." Graven spoke, pouring the wine for them. He gave her a mug and took the journal away from her to set it down with the bottle. She accepted the mug and shook her head as her answer, watching him. It wasn't until he clicked their mugs and threw his head back to down the wine, that she sipped at hers. He helped himself to two more servings before he slowed down with a grin. "As you know, I'm a lightweight. Wait until I finish this one and you shall know everything your heart desires."

_"I'm not particularly fond of someone who will make a fool out of themselves either." _Serana grumbled inwardly. _"But if it gets the truth out of him, I could suffer worse." _She nodded again, and strayed off to the ship's railing. There was a power lying dormant, scribbled in the wood, and she ran her fingers across runes that were written down with charcoal instead of magic. They glowed beneath her touch but had no other effect besides that. Were they inactive, or improperly drawn?

"May I have that dance, Sera?"

Graven came up behind her, on her side. His hand slid beside hers. Her breath caught in her throat, and she viciously quelled the heart that jumped in her chest. She wasn't nervous. She was not nervous. She refused to be nervous. He was just a man with ideas, like all the rest, courting her, like all the rest... but to what end? It wasn't like all the rest. None that she could see. He had no way of knowing of her wealth or her standing within the Volkihar clan, after all.

A warm breath sunk through her hair and scalded the ridge of her ear. "Sera?"

Serana turned, pressed against the railing. Her mug was taken from her hands and set on the ground, before her hands were taken into his, pulled closer to the steering wheel. She held onto his shoulders when they settled in their own little rhythm, and rested her head against his chest. Every action came without thought. That was dangerous. She needed sense to return, and to stop feeling what she so obviously was not - nervousness - so that she could think things through with a sound mind.

"I promised to tell you anything you want to know," Graven whispered.

"Are you telling me that again because there's something you want me to know? Something incriminating, perhaps?" Serana listened close to his heartbeat. It made the taste of iron and muck lace her fangs when her hunger resurfaced. The way his chest kicked against her head made her believe she was on the right track. "Have you been appearing selfless to facilitate trust? Is this another game where looks are deceiving?"

"You deserve more," he sighed. The roundabout answer inflated her suspicion. "I haven't always appeared that way. I felt it sometimes, too."

"When you weren't sure we were going to get out? Or when you were sure you could get out, alone?"

"Forgive me if I confess that I tend to be distrustful," Graven grumbled. "It's always been hard for me to trust people. I've been burned so many times that... well, it doesn't matter right now. What does is that I want to trust you, Serana. And I want to gain that trust, for both of us, with honesty instead of deception. I want to get to know you, but I also want to know why you have an elder scroll. I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried why you have one in your possession."

"Why? Because I'm a vampire?"

"I would be suspicious of anyone's intentions regardless of who or what they are."

Serana scoffed quietly. "Somehow I doubt that."

"You said yourself that we've gotten off on the wrong foot-"

"Because I'm a vampire."

"Do you truly blame me? Every vampire I've ever crossed has tried to kill me or the ones I love. You're the only one who hasn't, who's gone so far as to help me. That's why I want to trust you. That's why I want to get to know you, because I've never met someone like you before. Is your interest in me and the dunmer not unlike the same as mine in you?"

Serana nibbled on her lip while she thought of her answer. She gave in and nodded, swallowing pride. "Fine. Where do you want to start with this... trust thing?"

Graven pulled away enough to cup her chin between his fingers. Her heart jumped again.

_"I'm not nervous."_

He stared into her eyes and waited, for some reason, until he lowered.

_"I'm not nervous."_

And kissed her cheek.

_"I'm nervous."_

Serana sucked in shallow breaths to calm herself. She turned her head **towards** him, but he quickly pulled away with a nervous smile.

_"At least I'm not alone."_

"My apologies, Sera... I must admit, I've never been with anyone before. I should have asked about boundaries."

"Boundaries?" Serana whispered. The word almost failed to come out. She glanced down when his hands came to rest on her hips, and she studied the runes tattooed on one of his arms. She smiled and reached down to stroke them, and some glowed beneath her touch like the ones on the railings. "I'm not like a ward or a book of rules with tests to pass or fail, Graven, if that's what you're waiting to hear."

"You should be. There should be formulas too. G must be handsome and S must feel comfortable before we get to equal G plus S."

Serana laughed quietly. "You are such a strange man." She pulled him back close by his shoulders to hide her face in his chest as she whispered her confession, even though there was no one else to hear. "There are no formulas because I've never been with anyone before, either. Not for any longer than a party anyways, but those were always just for show and with a friend I could trust so suitors would leave me alone." She held on to his shoulders with all her might when he tried to pull away to look at her. She could almost hear his eyebrows raising with surprise. "Don't look at me like that."

"Clearly, because we've already established that looks can be deceiving. You've truly never been with anyone? You're a beautiful woman, you know."

She rolled her eyes. "There have been men who've tried, but for all the wrong reasons. I hope you're not one of them."

"Does that mean I shouldn't compliment on your beauty?"

"I'd rather you not. It's unnerving. Besides, appearances shouldn't be the winning factor." That coming from the woman who had a passing thought of having more volume in her hair.

"Right."

Silence fell. Eerie. Serana pulled away to look at him with suspicion, but he was just looking up at the sky with that nervous smile of his still in place. "That was too easy."

"Hardly. I'm panicking a lot inside, and I'm more than happy to keep my thoughts to myself so I won't curse my blessing and make a fool out of myself."

"Are you, really?" She couldn't help but prod and tease a little bit. "You're always so confident and 'of course' in everything else."

Graven grunted. What that was supposed to mean was unclear. He withdrew from her and ran a hand through his hair, before he suddenly bounced over to collect their mugs. "More wine? I'd love some. Oh, you do too? Of course you do. I'll pour us both more."

He left before she could agree.

_"I'm starting to sense a pattern here." _Serana thought to herself, amused to watch him so flustered. It made her wonder a little more about him, and in a way, he made her wonder about her goal to return home. How was she supposed to go 'home' when she felt like she belonged here? She looked down at the ring her mother had given her for some miracle epiphany of what she was supposed to do now.

But her ring was gone.

Serana's head shot up. From across the deck at the steering wheel, Graven was already grinning and ready. He held something glimmering between his fingers.

"Told you a kiss on the cheek is all I'll need to take it off your pretty finger!"

That was an instant kill to whatever hopes and expectations she had for tonight, and she groaned. "Ugh, you **are** 12!"

* * *

Author's Note

Thank you very much SeraphimicDestiny and king ulfr! And I'm glad you liked it Destiny, your effort in researching and sharing argonian lore is the only reason why I finally delved into as much as I can find myself and reconcile both the dunmer and altmer beliefs/practices with Graven. It's really helped construct him as a character in my mind, and helped me blast through the writer's block now that I have a concrete image of who he is both in mind and heart, and he's much easier to write and portray through the lens of Serana's perspective now! So thank you for being inspirational in the way you write and who you are :D Keep on doing you!

Thank you to all readers for tagging along this ride too, I hope you continue to enjoy their little push and pull. Because it's not ending any time soon ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	10. Chapter 10

_"How can someone so clever be so childish?" _Serana inwardly grumbled. _"This is becoming a game to him, isn't it?"_

She refused to let her eyes stray from her path as she steered the ship, or the compass. Every time she had, there was a half-drunk dunmer grinning at her. He's made himself comfortable sitting on a barrel, nursing his wine at a snail pace to entice her to come back and drink with him. She refused. She absolutely refused.

But damn did she need a drink.

The red color in the corner of her eye was trifling with her. Her tongue was growing thicker and drier. Graven was making himself look like a very prospective meal with his antics, and if she were to feed off of him, she could get drunk at the same time from his blood. She looked at her prey.

_"No. Deep breath. Focus." _She forced her gaze back on the sea. The grin in her peripheral vision didn't escape her notice.

"C'mon, Sera. I know you want to."

_"That's precisely the problem. I very much want to. However, there's a horrible side effect that you may die if I listen to what I want." _She was growing an attitude in her thoughts. She decided to pretend she was bothered by something else more than the hunger clawing at her bones, digging a hollow pit in her stomach. "No. You're just going to try to steal my ring again."

"I don't have to try. I will."

_"He sure knows how to build trust." _Serana looked at him and drawled. "Right. That makes me want to come over even more."

"Of course. You seem the type that enjoys a challenge and a good duel." Graven held up his mug and made a show of pouring wine in, then held it out. "I've kept my promise, didn't I?"

"Only after I noticed and asked for my ring back," she sighed. "I don't want this to become a habit. Steal something else, if you must, but the ring is off limits."

Graven rose from the barrel, and she fixated her gaze on the steering wheel when he approached.

_"Don't feed on him. Don't put a spell on him. Don't-"_

"Sera..." His hand rolled over hers and gripped the steering wheel through her. He came up on her side, forcing her to see and confront him. Her eyes snapped up with a sense of impatience and frustration, but it was curtailed by the concern buried in his eyes, hidden from his stoic face. "You seem frazzled. If I've done you a disservice and upset you, I promise it was not my intention and will not take your ring from now on."

"I'm not upset about the ring," she blurted. She wanted to scream at herself when she did.

"Is it the stealing?" Graven closed the case that protected the compass and set his mug on top of it. He gently pulled on her hand to turn her and kept his steady on the wheel. "Does that mean your heart is off limits as well?"

Serana's eyes widened. She laughed, thinking he was joking. She stopped when the steadfast resolve remained in his eyes. Underneath her nose was the enticing smell of his blood, and she had to fight to keep her eyes off the artery that pounded at his neck. She forced her gaze on the wine, until it's red color reminded her that was a horrible idea, and she turned back towards the wheel. She jerked too quickly and their contact broke. She couldn't bring herself to confess the truth when he looked hurt and walked back to the wine crate like a hound with his tail tucked between his legs.

"I'm going to retire for the night," he mumbled, taking the bottle of wine without any mugs.

"Wait." Serana carded her messy hair back, smiling sadly when she realized what she was doing. _"It seems I'm copying his and his sister's nervous tics." _She wedged the club into the steering wheel to lock it from turning. "Stay up here with me, unless you're tired." What she wanted now hid in the shadows from her, but she was just going to go for it. She strode to him and smirked when she filched the bottle from his hands. "I'm not upset about the stealing either, Graven."

Hope lit up in his eyes, and his defeated posture fixed itself immediately. "So what are you upset about?"

"That's for you to find out, now isn't it? A good thief should be able to pick any lock if they can't find the key." Serana left him to allow her cheeks the big smile they wanted to do, and they only had a few cherished seconds for it. _"This may be becoming a game to him, but he's not the only player." _The best of her etiquette and disciplinary training she had gone through as a child was put to the test when his footsteps became so much heavier and sporadic, as opposed to the light calm and decisive stride he usually carried himself with. It was all the little hints hidden between the cracks of his stoicism and flares of debonair that illuminated what he was actually feeling and thinking inside.

Graven didn't sound torn up or remorseful though, not with his choice of words. "So if you're not upset about the stealing, then I can continue, and if I can continue, then I'm not going to tell you about when I do it or what I take. There's no fun in stealing and confessing immediately after. A game of cat and mouse."

Serana composed herself and turned around, smirking when he stepped in and wrapped an arm around her waist the way he did when they danced. "Challenge accepted." She rested her hands on his chest and pushed enough to keep him away when he made a more overt move for her lips. "Don't be crude, I thought you prided yourself on the lessons taught to respect ladies?"

"What do you mean? If I'm disrespecting you-"

"Trying to steal a kiss on the lips?"

"What? No. I'm trying to get closer and get your neck."

"My neck? What for?"

"You'll see." Graven grinned and cocked his head to the side. He pushed against her hands until he was able to make it to her neck. She stiffened and laughed when he made eating sounds, tickling her. It only made her far more aware of herself and what she was wearing to make sure she wouldn't have anything stolen, but it was a double-edged sword to be more aware of the tickling too.

"This isn't going to work," she wheezed between chuckles. She flinched and tried to bring her shoulder and jaw together to squeeze Graven out of her neck, but he was persistent. It wasn't much longer until he stepped away with a dastardly prize. Her strapless breastband. Her face scorched hot. "Give me that!"

"What's this? I've never seen a garment like this before. What do you do with this?"

"Oh, that is not going to work. You have a sister!" She made a swipe for it, now humbly aware of her untucked shirt and the chilly air coming up inside with every move.

"I don't steal things from my sister." Graven looked serious and genuinely clueless. He danced away from Serana and held her bra up to his face. "Is this like a cropped camisole?"

"Give it back, Graven!"

"Only if you explain what it's function is for." When the bra spun in his fingers, and he came face to face with the molded cups, the gears seemed to be turning. She didn't let him continue any train of thought he might have been having when she launched forward and grabbed his arm to keep him in place, using her vampiric strength to her advantage. "Ow, ow, ow, ease up! Here, have it back!"

He deserved this. He deserved worse than this.

Serana ripped her bra away and glared at him. "Turn around so I can put it back on. And close your eyes." She waited until the grumbling dunmer did as he rubbed his arm.

"Did you have to grip so hard? I thought you were going to break my arm."

"That was me going easy," she grumbled. She was thoroughly displeased and this was definitely a boundary they're both about to learn. _"Note to self, find something with straps so this never happens again. He's about to find this more amusing than the ring." _She turned around as well and stole plenty of looks before she quickly snuck the breastband under her shirt. She hooked the clips and tugged it up until the cups fit snugly, then stuffed the ends of her oversized shirt like a madwoman. She wasn't out of the woods yet. She helped herself to Graven's sash and renewed her effort to glare when his jaw started to turn, indicating he was going to look over his shoulder. "Eyes front. I'm not done."

"I need the sash to keep my pants on though."

_"Noted."_ She smirked. "And I need the sash to keep your hands **out.**"

"I won't do it again, c'mon, Sera. You've got like nothing else for me to take except your clothes. I need something to work with here."

"Here's an idea. How about you stop stealing from me? That sounds like a good idea, I think."

"It is, because you came up with it."

Serana rolled her eyes. "Cheap compliments aren't going to save you." She gave a firm tug and pulled the sash free. She had to bite her tongue to stop herself from laughing when his hands went straight to his trousers. She whirled around and strode decisively to the steering wheel as she wrapped the sash around herself, making sure it had covered her belt line and her waist. If he was going to pull the same move, he would have to pull her shirt over her head, and there was no way he was going to be able to distract her from a big bold move like that.

"Sera, come on, don't be like that." Graven whined. "Sera? Sera, come on. Come on now. Be nice."

Serana ignored him and went for the wheel. She shot him a sweet smile even when he looked so dismayed. "This is me being nice. I could do much, **much, **worse for what you did. Never again, do you hear me? Boundary right there. The next time you stick your hand under my shirt, I will cut it off. Finger by finger."

Graven's eyes widened at the threat. He nodded furiously fast, and she could hear him swallow from where she stood. She didn't genuinely mean the threat of course, but that didn't mean she wouldn't stop getting her own amusement from scaring him a little. It was nothing less than what he deserved after that stunt.

"Can I at least know what it was?"

A sigh left Serana. "You seriously don't know?"

"I mean, I have ideas, but the contraption doesn't make sense to me."

_"Contraption. Kill me." _Serana chewed away at her lip. She shook her head. "Get changed first and maybe I'll explain it. I can't take you seriously with you holding your pants up."

"You could-"

"No."

"Alright, alright... I'll be back in a few minutes." Graven walked funnily with how he spread his legs out wide to stop the pants from falling down. She chuckled and didn't hide it even when he gave her a look, unreadable from this distance, but she didn't need to see it up close anyways. The best was watching him try to navigate and maneuver the hatch to the lower level. If he bent at the hips, the pants fell. He tried to sit down and scooted around on his bum until she couldn't take it anymore, and burst out laughing.

"You're absurd. How you've managed to survive and make it to 12 years old, I'll never know."

He poked his tongue out at her and grinned. "A mystical mystery for the ages."

It seemed being ridiculous was his primary motive. It didn't take him long after that to figure out an actual practical way to descend down the hatch without losing his trousers, and peaceful silence returned. She cherished it for she knew that wouldn't last long either. She kept the club in the steering wheel and went to help herself with the wine bottle. It made her thirsty for something else again. She forced her mind on the next nearest thought that had nothing to do with hunger, and instead her mind provided her the sensations she felt a few minutes ago, without her breastband. She could only hope it was too dark for Graven to see the finer details, but she didn't see him look down at her breasts and stare, as most suitors in the court had done before.

_"Does he seriously not know what a bra is? That has to be him playing a joke on me. How did Runayr and him live together? Well, to be fair, I never went through father's drawers." _Serana drank from the bottle and went to the ship railing, tracing the charcoal runes for them to light up beneath her fingertips. She felt a low pleasing hum of energy as vibrant colors streamed from the thick black residue. She couldn't detect any purpose to them and the lines looked more like the inane scribbles of a bored child. None of these letters, if they could be called that, bore any resemblance to the daedric language usually associated with runes.

_"Maybe that's just what this is. The product of his boredom as he waited for me to wake up." _She looked around the ship and tuned in to other traces of mystical magic, trying to spot what runes may have been engraved in the decks for protection. _"I feel... something. I can't see any though." _Then again, she never saw the wards in his home and only felt the repulsive painful sensations when they tried to keep her trapped inside.

_"Come to think of it, I never asked him about his magic or his theories."_

It didn't make it up high on her list of priorities then or now. There was no way she was going to risk having him drone on about magic. It was fascinating, it truly was, and she thought it was an interesting topic as well... **not** for hours on end though.

Serana leaned against the railing and watched the dark sea, a sliver of it illuminated by the crescent moon. She lost herself in the waves of the water tenderly lapping at the ship as if it was trying to figure out the boundaries itself, pushing with a gentle hand. _"Like Graven."_ She rested her cheek against her fist and smiled.

The hatch creaked behind her. She looked over her shoulder and gestured lazily for Graven to join her by the railing. His calm decisive stride had returned. He came up beside her and she peeked at his clothes. "Yours already dried? That was fast. It's humid down there."

"The boons of fire magic," he smiled suavely, but it wouldn't downplay the detestable mention of such a disgusting thing. She shivered at it and he chuckled. "I wagered I'd get that reaction, understandably so... so you probably shouldn't touch your clothes for an hour, until they cool down."

She pushed off from the railing. "Cool down?" In that instant, the bottle was stolen from her without struggle. She lashed at herself for being so easily distracted.

Graven shrugged. "I dried yours too." He drank straight from the bottle, neither bearing much love for their mugs anymore.

Serana shivered again. Her precious clothes were licked by disgusting flames. "I hope you haven't charred off any pieces," she grumbled.

He laughed. "As far as I'm aware, I haven't. Destruction has never been my specialty though. I must say though, your clothes are made of exquisite fabric. Soft, yet still sturdy. Good seamstresses and craftsmanship like that are hard to come by these days, not to mention being able to work with such fabric. If you ever think about selling them, you should swing by the shop and get my father to appraise it. He'll make a generous deal."

That touched a little too close to home. She hoped he hadn't deduced wealth from the worth of her clothes, and she inwardly cursed his attention to detail. _"Shouldn't he be drunk and depraved? What was he doing with my clothes?" _Serana watched him from the corner of her eyes a little more warily. _"He was gone for a bit. Did he try to do anything with the elder scroll?"_

Graven caught her eyes and smirked with haughty pride. "You look like you're considering a hiding place to bury my body."

_"This man is so strange for being able to smile like that, with what he's saying." _Serana shook her head. "No." She took the bottle back from him. He left for the barrel to grab another and plucked hers away before she could drink, replacing it with a fresh one.

"Here. I wager you would rather have your own than one that I have drunk from."

Her brows met in confusion. "Does it matter?"

It seemed it did when the haughty pride left his smile in favor of a more meek one. "W-well I drank from it."

"Yeah... and?"

"And you drank from it."

"Okay... and?"

"And we both drank from it."

"I'm waiting for this to make sense, Graven. Are you just pointing out the obvious again to tease me?"

"Never mind, just drink yours." He promptly shut himself up as he chugged what was left of his bottle, then set the empty one down to fetch another one. His walk was becoming less coordinated with time. Maybe there wasn't any point to figuring out the random whims of someone who was well on his way to being drunk. She knew he was nervous about something when he ran his hand through his hair **and** rubbed the back of his neck.

On a whim of her own, Serana followed. She hooked her arm around his elbow before he grabbed another bottle from the wine crate and pulled him towards the steering wheel. "Just take mine. One of us has to have a clear mind if we're going to sail, or else we'll end up elsewhere."

"Elsweyr, with the khajiit?"

_"At least he still has his sense of horrible humor even when he's drunk and nervous. But why is he nervous?"_ Serana sighed and shook her head with a smile. She meant what she said about sailing, but she brought him here in hopes distracting him with a lesson on sailing might get him to loosen his lips up a little more to be truthful with her. _"He did say getting him drunk will help me believe him, after all."  
_

What a beautiful thing rationale was.

"You do your... sailing thing then. I've got your back." Graven stood behind her and watched when she pulled the club out of the wheel. "That's to unlock it?"

She nodded. She also stiffened when his hand slid on the small of her back, and when she glanced over her shoulder, she realized how close he was. It was terrifying to feel his breath hit the tip of her shoulder, drawing awareness to the large sleeve that had slipped over to expose her shoulder. She reached to fix it, and her hand was caught. Her breath hitched when wet lips hesitantly pressed to her shoulder. She looked again, where clouded red eyes stared back at her. He broke the kiss and hovered an inch away as he whispered. "Is this okay?"

"What do you want from me?" Serana blurted. _"Nobody acts like this unless they want something. Is it the scroll? He's mistaken if he thinks he'll bed his way to it."  
_

Graven appeared genuinely confused. "What do you mean?"

She chewed her lip and went back to steering, fixing her sleeve back up on her shoulder. She fought with her words. They sat in her chest, so close to rolling off her tongue. Her mind refused to give permission to say them. Her awareness was brought back to the hand on her back when it rubbed the smallest circles.

"I've got your back," he repeated, and he squeezed. There was a smile in his tone. "Literally."

Were it not for the gravity of doubts pulling her down, she might have chuckled at his horrible humor. Her lip stung raw from her fangs scraping it. She was on the edge of fear and wanting to just say to hell with it all, even if there was no rationale. It would be one of the first decisions she's made for herself in a long time, with no meddling parents. A decision she could call her own, and that was just as rare as listening to desire more than logic. She was a grown woman who harbored the same curiosities as him. But she couldn't push herself over the edge.

"Sera?"

Honesty should have been unleashed, but she was too dug into her comfort zone to try. "We drank a little bit too much tonight," she whispered. "We should probably focus on sailing and sober up before we do something we'll regret."

Especially when that regret meant letting go of everything that was holding her back from exploring her curiosity with him, because letting go meant she was more likely to lose herself, to lose her mind, and to lose control of where her fangs might scrape next. She couldn't risk it. She was terrified of being the monster he saw her in his home. She lost the courage to look at him, as if afraid to disappoint him. She was retreating back into the shell of the little girl she was with her parents, ready at their beck and call, conditioned to serve their whims instead of her own.

_"When have I ever done anything for myself?"_

"Of course, Sera. I apologize for pushing, that was unworthy and-"

"Don't apologize. I should be apologizing." It came out as such a tiny mumble. She stared at the wheel, then slowly locked the club back in place and turned around to face him. She couldn't meet his eyes. "I'm **starving. **I haven't fed in who knows how many years. Meditation and distraction can only stave off the hunger for so long. I'm afraid of what I might do if you keep indulging me."

Graven hummed. He cupped her chin with gentleness that made her want to scream. She resisted when he tried to encourage her to look up, but he remained persistent and inched in the tiniest increments until she rolled her eyes, sighed, and gave in with an unamused look, somehow able to sense and feel the playfulness in the warm fingers around her chin.

"You don't have to be afraid, Sera."

"How can you say that when you don't trust me? And don't lie to say you do."

"I don't, because you don't trust yourself. So trust yourself, and I will trust you. These things have a way of expressing themselves when you feel it."

"I can't just snap my fingers and feel it."

"Then believe in the possibility." Graven held her hips and came close, pushing through her resistance when her hands came up on his chest again. He tucked his face in her neck. His neck was right there**.** Her gaze was level with it, fixated on it, and all she had to do was open her mouth to drink. "Though, that's hypocritical. I must confess, I have trouble trusting myself too."

That helped her curiosity overpower her hunger. "With what?"

"With being the Dragonborn. You hear, see and read stories of power corrupting individuals, and the tyranny that can devastate countries as a result. What if I become that kind of individual? Who am I to judge what is and isn't an abuse of power, or who to serve with it? Akatosh isn't physically here to tell me if I've abused my Thu'um, like yesterday. When I cleared the sky, I did so out of my own selfishness, and in doing so I had put you in fatal danger because of the sun. I haven't even worked up the courage to apologize, and yet you never became upset with me, which further muddles the debate of my use of power. It's hard to reflect on our every single word and action, because first we must factor in if we even reflect at all, and how we justify ourselves, and how we perceive the world based on those justifications. Justification is the greatest evil of them all, but so too can it be the greatest good if we work to believe in it. If we keep telling ourselves negative things, then of course we're going to believe in those negative things."

Serana digested his words and let them sink in, focusing on just listening to him instead of that **fucking artery** pounding in his neck. She forced her eyes shut and allowed him to become her source of meditative mantras. "Like a self-fulfilling prophecy," she whispered.

"Yes. In a way, we're like walking elder scrolls ourselves. How we think essentially dictates our fate with a nuanced hand. So if you believe you're a monster, the possibility of you being one is greater than you believing you're not. And for what it's worth..."

He kissed her neck.

Her eyes snapped open, stuck on the pounding artery.

"I don't believe you're a monster, Sera."

Her mouth opened, fangs bared. She struggled so hard to stay away from the artery, but it was throbbing **so loud. **Her eyes burned. "Yes I am. I'm the scariest thing out here."

Graven pulled away to look at her. She was about to bite down to hide her fangs, but he stuck his thumb in against her teeth to stop her. Awkwardly. "No you're not, because you're not a **thing.** You want to know what the scariest thing out here is?" Thankfully, his hand fell away from her mouth, and she looked down to follow it when he reached behind her hip. Her eyes widened when the telltale shrilling of a blade being unsheathed rang sharp in the air. He stepped back with her dagger, and he cautiously closed his trembling palm around the blade. "This."

A careless slip of the blade dictated his fate when her fangs slipped into his bloodied palm.

* * *

Author's Note

Thank you again SeraphimicDestiny! That part was really hard to write even in a vague manner. I believe that as horrible as it was, it just makes Serana even all the more stronger for it because she isn't portrayed as a victim or carries herself as one, but I think that kind of trauma would still manifest itself sometimes, especially subconsciously. I don't have the guts to really delve any further into that trauma though. Like just reading word for word how the dunmer so bluntly perceive Molag Bal was enough of a struggle for me to incorporate that part of their lore. Not for long! But I have to tame my eagerness so that I don't rush the connection though because personally, if I were a reader, I would be yelling 'KISS ALREADY' like 10 chapters ago :P

We'll see what next chapter brings! Even I don't know since I'm writing without a plan, so I apologize if this has been too slow-burn for readers. Thank you all for sticking along!


	11. Chapter 11

Pain wracked through Serana the moment her fangs slipped into Graven's palm. White flashed and blinded her, forcing her to tear away with a hiss. Anger exploded in her chest and all she saw was a threat as light-blue lines glowed from the runes tattooed on the dunmer's arms, creating a contrast with the bright red blood dripping off the ends of stale gray fingertips. It threw her brain into chaos for a moment, for all she could see in her mind's eye was a corpse with that skin, like a draugr.

It wasn't until her eyes flew up to Graven's, meant to intimidate and haze her **prey** into submission, that shame overwhelmed her within a breath. The blade dropped dangerously close to his feet and he cradled his hand, agony vivid on his features, but when he looked up at her, he had the most awfully forced smile.

"At least I still have one of those faces that everybody loves."

_"This... how can he joke about this? I attacked him without thought this time." _Serana didn't know what to do. The luxurious smell made her saliva pool in her mouth and it was disgusting to swallow it. She wanted to help but she didn't trust herself, and there was no way he was going to trust her now, whether she believed in herself or not. "Graven..."

"It's fine. I don't blame you. I once attacked a Nord for taunting me with a loaf, when I was starving for a week. That's just a week. I can't imagine how hungry you must be."

"Stop understanding. That's making it worse," she blurted. "I'd understand if you threw a fit." The tiniest saddest smile twinged the corner of her lip. "Like last time."

"My apologies." Graven chuckled weakly. "I will do my best to be a presumptuous asshole like I was when we first met, and berate you for biting me." He walked over to the ship's railing and held his arm out over it, letting the blood drip free until it clotted and stopped. She had to force her eyes off the stains on the deck. Her mind wouldn't stop tormenting her with images and absurd ideas of licking the blood off the damn deck.

"Graven, just..." Serana sucked in a deep breath and pinched her nose to plug it. She dared to walk over to him. The smell and taste clung to the roof of her mouth, but at least it wasn't as powerful. She slid her hand over his arm and waited for another flash of pain, but the wards didn't activate. She never subjugated magic into him, as far as she remembered of the attack. Did he do it to force her off? "Can I bandage it to make it up to you?"

"I wager you want to do the opposite," he murmured with a gentle tone. It didn't belong.

"If I listened to all the things I want, especially now, you wouldn't be standing."

"Exactly my point." He flashed her that weary suave smile, then carded his long bangs out of his face, accidentally smearing blood on his forehead.

"What do you mean?" Serana frowned, confused, and fought not to stare at the smear.

"A true monster wouldn't care. They'd listen to their every desire."

"Why are you defending me? I don't understand you at all. I never did anything to make you switch from how I was treated in your home, to now."

"On the contrary, you've done more than you think. Must you always do something to be deserving? Is that what you've been taught?"

"Just answer the question," she snapped impatiently. "If I'm to trust you, then I need to know why you've been trying to trust me, and..." Serana sighed, frustrated, and everything she had bottled up came out. "I **bit** you, Graven."

"You know, I was joking before when I teased you about shooting yourself in the foot."

Serana ignored it. She wasn't going to let him try to deflect this away with humor. "I was going to feed on you had you not forced me off. That's not okay. This isn't something to laugh at. This is what I am and who I am and it's not going to change. You need to stop seeing whatever you believe you're seeing in me and realize that I'm a vampire, and you're a mortal. I don't know if you're just lonely and have never been with a woman before, but I am not a healthy first relationship, and-"

A bloodstained finger fell on her lips, and her nose was unplugged. She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut as tightly as her lips. _"This foolish man is hellbent on proving fairy tales exist. They don't. If he thinks I won't attack him again, he's a fool." _Every part of her screamed to just poke her tongue out and have a taste.

"You're not who you think you are right now," he explained softly. "I know you don't trust me, but let's call this a start: at least trust me when I say you aren't a monster."

"How do you know? Vampires are hunted down because of our very nature. We're barely above wild beasts. Even now, I can't stop thinking how you're my prey."

"But you feel otherwise. That's how I know."

"This isn't a fairy tale, Graven!" Her eyes snapped open, and she bared her fangs to prove her point. "Take a good look at these."

He held his palm up to them instead and she swore she was going to strangle him for this. She slapped his hand away, but he just kept offering his palm. "Drink."

"No!"

"You're hungry, you need to drink. If you continue to starve yourself, you'll go mad."

"I'll **kill** you if I lose control."

"Then don't."

"It's not that simple!"

"My wards will activate automatically if you fail the test, like you just did. Drink with mindfulness, not mindlessness, and you'll be fine. I know you can do it. You've been mindful about this the entire time and you still are. Here." He forced his palm against her fangs and winced when instinct made her clamp her jaw down. Instead of ripping away, she cradled his hand, and the hunger took over. Her eyes slipped shut when the first wave of warmth pulsed through her, warmth that she remembered feeling before her turning, warmth that she missed terribly. The blood was hotter than usual, and there was a rush of adrenaline and fire and mysticism and **bitter alcohol.**

Serana hiccuped with laughter, and it made her open her eyes for a little bit, looking up at Graven, who stared back at her. _"It's so awkward when he watches..." _She pulled her fangs out as gently as she could and was wracked with another wave of guilt when he winced again. She looked down in shame, unable to meet his eyes.

"Don't stare at me while I'm... eating. It's weird."

Graven chuckled. "Sorry. I've just never done well with seeing my blood before, normally. This is new to me." There was something... reserved in his tone, and his words. There was something else he wanted to say, wasn't there? Was it good or bad that he was holding back?

"Oh, I'm the first ever vampire you've willingly allowed to feed on you? You had me fooled. I thought you were an expert." She smirked, feeling a little better without the darker volatile thoughts to nag her mind. She dove back in when he looked away to give her peace, mumbling a quick apology before her fangs slid back inside. She was careful enough to make sure she had gone in the exact same way with the exact same holes of the exact same dimensions, so that she wouldn't put him in any more pain than needed.

Dizziness took hold of her and she stumbled back by accident. Another wave of guilt crashed over her when Graven hissed with pain and shook out his hand. She still didn't understand why he was doing all of this, or what point he was trying to make.

_"Well, besides me not being a 'monster'... but what's his motive to prove this to me?"_

His bloodied hand came on her shoulder to steady her. He had pain in his eyes, but a smile on his lips. It only made her feel more guilty than okay.

"Good is subjective, Serana. Pure isn't."

Her brow quirked with confusion. "That makes no sense."

"Of course it does."

"Of course," she chuckled, but it fell quickly. She studied his smile and his eyes and shook her head. "You know, whenever you say that, that just proves you're unsure."

A quick devious grin flashed. He was too slow to wipe it off and replace it with certainty. "I've never been more sure in my life."

"Uh huh." Serana rolled her eyes. "Alright then. Enlighten me. How does that make sense?"

"Well, I'm not a good man, but I've got a pure heart. You're the same."

"You've already lost me."

Graven laughed. He released her and raised his hand. "Can you help me bandage this up first? I don't want to get more blood on you."

"Your priorities forever mystify me," she sighed. She unbuttoned her shirt enough to worm her arm out, tugging on the loose sleeve high enough for her teeth to make it and help rip the whole thing off. She could still taste Graven's blood on the fabric. Her hunger was sated, but her palate was not, and she shamefully savored the taste. There was **power** dwelling in every droplet. The blood of a Dragonborn.

_"I keep forgetting he is one. From the heroic tales of dragonborns in the past, I just assumed..."_

Serana worked without thought as she tied her sleeve around his hand, smiling to herself when she would steal glances at Graven. He looked away to the side and grimaced with every layer tightening on his palm, until she sealed it with the final knot as tenderly as she possibly could. Part of her was disappointed that she hadn't put him through pain, and that part went ignored. The thoughts of a Daughter of Coldharbor. She didn't regret the power she had, but she didn't relish all the vicious instincts that came with vampirism.

"I take it back," Graven murmured. He flexed his fingers to test the bandages, then locked eyes. "We're not the same. You're a good woman."

"With an impure heart?"

"Not at all."

"Good is subjective."

"Do all women always need to debate and be right? You're like Runayr."

"I'm giving it five minutes before you take that back too," Serana teased. Her cheeks ached when she tamed her grin as he rolled his eyes. _"About time I make him do that. I feel like he's always making me do it." _She fit her arm back through the torn sleeve to button up her shirt. "How do you know any of this? It's all conjecture."

"Hardly. You proved both, now." Graven turned his arm up and traced the lines of his tattoos, drawing a shape by connecting different paths. It lit up with magic that chased his fingertip, changing colors. The picture came to life but it seemed to be sideways. He tapped it. "Can you guess what that is?"

Serana stepped closer and angled her head. A door, with red lanterns on each side of it. "The shop." She looked over at him with a smile. The answer dawned on her. "I passed your test, but if I remember right, you defined what it meant to have a pure heart in a way that wouldn't drive off your father's customers. Wouldn't that mean it's still subjective, like being good? By your definition, if a vampire could go through, then all of Skyrim has a pure heart." She sucked in a breath. "Vampirism isn't a gift from the Aedra."

"Ah, but I haven't told you what my definition is. That ward doesn't test what courses through your blood. It tests what courses through your soul."

"What courses through the soul? Does that magic even exist?"

"It's an amalgamation of the different schools. I'm an alchemist before I'm a wizard, and so I experiment with anything and everything that I can. My hobby extends to magic."

_"Wonderful. It's a hobby. Now I understand what Runayr meant when she said I'll most likely see him paralyzing himself, someday."_

"Illusion doesn't always have to mean it conjures trickery. Give a man a mask, and you'll see who he truly is behind it. Alteration shapes reality, conjuration beckons spirits, illusion taps into the mind, restoration comes from the soul. Weave different strands together, and you can find out one simple fact. The golden rule, shaped in a question. Do you want to harm existence?"

Serana frowned, confused. "You can't harm existence itself. You can harm things that exist, and that would still be dependable on what those things may be."

"Precisely, but the question is, do you **want** to? If it is out of necessity, such as hunting, or perhaps you need to steal food to feed your family, then it is out of necessity and what you need is help, not punishment. It still comes from a pure intention. Otherwise, if there is a true malicious desire that has manifested within you and corrupted your soul, where yes, you do want to harm entities that exist, then you would have failed the test. It does not matter what kind of harm that may be. If you cheat someone willingly, especially knowing of the consequences it will burden them with, you are harming them. Even if it's financially."

"Didn't you say justification is the greatest evil? What if that person justifies what they're doing isn't wrong and believes it?"

"Unless you're sick with something worse than brain rot, all beings have that sense inside of them that what they're doing is wrong. That's why they hide. They wouldn't if, deep down, they didn't think it wasn't wrong. That is how thieves such as my sister and I are still able to pass through that door. We don't steal out of harm, but out of the intention to do good with it and not with self-serving motives." Graven smirked. "By the way, I am thoroughly enjoying the part where you've actually been listening to my philosophical nonsense and even remember it. It's invigorating to debate healthily and finally have someone else's perspective."

"So me being a monster is still up for debate then, isn't it?"

He laughed. "Of course not. You passed my test."

"By your definition. To claim it's the golden rule would imply you think you're above the law."

"I'm not above the law, because, remember? My faith is my law. It's impossible to be above what you believe in."

Serana stared. She was running into some dead ends here. It was just as invigorating for her, but she didn't like to **lose.** "Man can't dictate definitions. We're all flawed."

"Perfection is imperfection."

"Stop it!"

"You stop it," Graven grinned. "You're very persistent when it comes to upsetting yourself, you know. Do I really need to do the most childish thing right now?"

Serana narrowed her eyes. _"I don't want to fall for it... but I'm curious. What's the worst that can happen?" _She nodded, slowly, and watched him carefully when he took her hand. He curled her fingers into a fist and rose it up to her face. _"I have a really bad feeling about this."_

He tapped her cheek. It became faster and harder over time, chanting the same thing over and over again.

"Stop hitting yourself."

Serana groaned. "Okay. You don't need to do it."

"Stop hitting yourself."

"No, really. I insist. You don't need to do it anymore."

"Stop hitting yourself."

"I get the point, Graven."

"Why are you hitting yourself?"

Serana used her strength to her advantage and jerked him close, coming up to his face to intimidate him. She opened her eyes wide and smelled a spike of fear in him. Her fang poked out of her lip in a slanted smirk. That fear disappeared and he smirked back at her.

"You passed my test. You wouldn't harm me."

"I passed it then, it doesn't mean I can't change now. Another little flaw. There's still time yet for my soul to be corrupted. Vampires are immortal, remember?"

There was the faintest grimace. She got him. He looked away, a subconscious confession of defeat, just like the way he mumbled. "I never said it's infallible."

"Mm-mm, just lose with grace, Graven. You can't dig yourself out now." She still stayed in his face, reveling in his discomfort. Until he turned the tables and put his hands on her hips, and there was a nervous thrill that knotted her stomach. She twisted away from him and used the steering wheel as an excuse. "Thank you for your generous... donation. I'm feeling better now and I'll be able to sail with clarity."

"Sera..."

"It's barely been an hour since we've stopped drinking. We still need to sober up." She conveniently ignored the part where they didn't really drink all that much.

"Is that a reason, or an excuse?"

She chewed her lip and took her sweet time to remove the club from the wheel so that she wouldn't be turning any time soon. She didn't want him to read her expressions, even though he could read everything else. Him being so observant was a double-edged sword. She didn't answer, because both of them were equally bad.

"It's a long trip and you haven't slept in a while," she murmured. "You still have to recover from the poison, and-"

"I don't want excuses made for me, Sera. I want the truth from you." Graven approached without fear and came up behind her, his bandaged hand wrapping around hers on one of the wheel's pegs. "We can't learn to trust each other if we keep lying to each other and to ourselves. I enjoy your company, Sera, and I'm more than happy to move at the pace either of us needs when we're faced with something we're uncomfortable with, but I haven't mastered the magic of reading minds. I won't be offended or disappointed, if that's what you're fretting over."

"What I still haven't figured out is why you're interested in me," she blurted. She still couldn't bring herself to turn towards the wheel. "Is it because of that test? I'm a vampire who boasts greater magical aptitude than your average mage, and I'm friendly?" Her resolve wavered when he gently squeezed her hand.

"I don't know about friendly," he murmured playfully. "You can be quite scary when you want to be. And you bit me twice, now."

That forced a chuckle out of her before she could stop it. Her head lulled back with a noisy sigh, and she gave him a look when he took it upon himself to come around to the front of her, holding her shoulders to stop her from running away. He couldn't truly stop her if she truly wanted to run.

"I am tired, but these are the only peaceful nights we'll have until we dock and go wherever your home is. Out here, we're completely alone. I don't want to sleep because I don't want to waste this chance on that, when I can spend the time with you. I genuinely enjoy **your** company, Sera. You indulged my curiosities about magic initially, yes, but as you remember, I used that knowledge against you even when you posed no imminent threat, only a faulty perceived one. Now that I'm learning more about you and who you are, I..." His teeth subtly worried the corner of his lip. He looked up in thought, and time drifted.

_"Is... he going to talk any time soon?" _Serana felt awkward, waiting.

"You once said something about suitors, before. Is there a specific way you must be courted?"

That made her sick. She forced a smile and shook her head. "No. Except: not like them. Which you're not."

Sincere feelings had a habit of disappearing in the face of power and wealth. He couldn't know about her royalty, if the aristocratic line still held any value in this age.

"Is there a way you **want** to be courted?"

"I... don't know." She did and she didn't. She just didn't want the false smiles and expensive gifts she would never find a use for. She didn't want Graven to meet her father, because it always came down to the throne one way or another. She couldn't encourage this, not even the possibility. It just wasn't going to work out. Father would sooner tear this man apart on the insult alone that a mortal would dare try to court a vampire of her standing, especially a mortal that father would see as nothing more than a dirty peasant. Graven wasn't thinking about the big picture, but he couldn't be blamed, because she was trying to keep him away from it. The world couldn't be doomed if the Dragonborn died just because he was punished for his... feelings.

Serana pulled away from him and situated herself with the wheel. The words that left her mouth had a foul taste. "I don't want to be courted at all."

His breath hitched quietly. He came up to her side and she almost snapped at his persistence, until he bowed. "My apologies." He came up with a smile. "I've been very pushy. I won't any longer. I take it you'd like to be left to your thoughts and sail in peace, then?"

Serana bit the inside of her lip as she nodded. "Yes, please."

"Then I'll retire to my cabin." Graven left for the hatch. "I'll be back in a few minutes with a coat, it's chilly tonight."

He disappeared before she could say she didn't need one. When he returned, he had a smile on his face that didn't reach his eyes. His pursuance of manners was endearing but painful at the same time, and she forced a smile back when he wrapped his thick coat around her shoulders.

"There we are." He leaned close almost as if he wanted to kiss her cheek, until he righted himself and gave her space. He did up the coat's clasp and fluffed up the fur collar.

"Thank you."

"Of course. If I sleep in, wake me up when the sun begins to rise and I'll take over." He left for the hatch, but stopped. "By the way..." Graven turned around, and for some reason, he held his hands out in front of his chest. The horror sank in when he made upside down C-s with them. "Is that what your contraption does? Is it a supportive garment meant to protect your chest?"

Serana could finally feel just how chilly it was tonight, with how hot her cheeks got. She kept it short and simple so that his curiosity wouldn't venture further.

"Yes."

"Ah, that makes more sense. I was worried when I thought it might be some sort of device you used to inflict torture by crushing yourself."

_"Sometimes it feels that way, he's not far off." _Serana still kept it simple and smiled, but offered no answer.

"Thank you for indulging me as always, Sera. Good night, and please do let me know if you need me to help out with anything like the sails or something."

She nodded. "I will. Sweet dreams, Graven."

His grin was her torture. When he disappeared to the lower levels, she gnawed on her tongue and cursed herself. She picked up the dagger he dropped, where his blood gleamed. It wasn't until a sufficient amount of looks at the hatch that she shamefully licked it off and sheathed her blade, and returned to the steering wheel, confused about her feelings on just about everything that had to do with Graven. She's never had a willing mortal offer their blood to her, and one who had even looked at her with fascination instead of disgust.

_"Such a strange man..."_

Serana angled her head so that she could feel the fur collar against her jaw, wishing for a scruffy chin to scratch her neck again.


	12. Chapter 12

_"Here goes nothing." _Serana inhaled deeply. She rose her fist and licked her dry lips, ignoring the baser twinge at her stomach when she thought of hot blood. It took her a minute before she knocked on the door. "Graven? May I come in?"

There was no answer. She didn't know him well enough to know what his sleeping habits were, especially when she had awoken to him watching her sleep back in his home.

_"Is he a heavy sleeper?" _She knocked again. "Graven?" Serana opened the door slowly. She semi-minded her gaze when she saw how his sheets had been kicked off, clinging on the edge. His limbs were sprawled out, arms over his head, and he was clad in his loincloth. It gave her an opportunity to study the tattoos that traveled up his arm and down one side of his torso, wrapping around the side of his ribs.

_"They don't appear to have any meaning to them, until he gives them one with his magic. Less magicka required to activate and time to draw the patterns, then. Clever..." _She came over to the bed and smirked at the drool that crawled out the corner of his mouth. He had done so well to cement a graceful and regale aura about him, until now, and removed from his childish plays. _"A man who's lived a peasant life rooted in thievery and racism. Maybe he's just trying to convince himself he's so much more than that." _Serana leaned over and squeezed his shoulder. "Graven, wake up." She gave a slight shake, and it backfired on her.

Graven rolled on his side and squirreled his blanket to his chest. "No..."

_"Well now I know he's not a morning person. Guess we share something in common. Probably don't share the same reason why, though." _She smiled. "Yes. Get up."

"I have to wake up first."

"You're talking, I'd say you're awake."

"I could be sleepwalking. And talking."

"Then sleepwalk your way up to the wheel," Serana chuckled. She looked around the room and deliberately tossed his clothes on his face. He remained stubborn and still, until she took off his coat and threw that on him too. He groaned and pulled everything down to look at her with the most heart-wrenching eyes. "Not going to work. Dress up and go, come on. The ship can't stay unattended forever."

Graven sighed and pushed himself up into sitting, sluggish and lazy as he pulled his trousers on. His hair was all over the place, and somehow the finer hairs of his goatee had the strangest ability to stand at amusing angles that made her curious as to how it was even possible. He continued to grumble as he clothed himself, but she didn't give in and remained steadfast to push him out of the cabin. She rolled her eyes when he had cast candlelight to illuminate the hallway, and quickly closed the door on him to save herself from hissing at the light.

"Sera?"

"It's my turn to sleep," she called out and leaned against the door. "Wake me up when the sun sets!"

Graven sighed again. "Alright." The creaks of his steps stopped. "Sweet dreams, Serana."

Serana chewed the inside of her lip to stop her smile. "Thank you. And don't try to sail without me. I already dropped the anchor, so just make sure we're safe."

"You got it!"

When his steps faded away and the hatch whined, Serana pulled off the pirate rags and folded them neatly. She set it down on the night table and stared at the bed Graven slept in, where something plucked at her inside. Her cheeks warmed when she decided to slip in. The mattress felt like fire against her skin, but the scald was welcome when she turned into the pillow and smelled him. There was a spicy aroma, but a hearty and sweet spice, like eating a freshly baked cinnamon sweetroll by the fire. It made her yearn for it.

_"The sweetroll." _Serana clarified to herself. She buried herself deeper into the bed and tried to think of anything but Graven, even when she had picked his bed specifically to think of everything about Graven. _"Will I ever make up my mind?" _

There was something about him that he kept mysterious, but she didn't get in the sense that it was out of malicious intent or mistrust. She wanted to learn what it was that he was hiding, or was that the excuse she was using to **clarify** more things to herself? Serana rolled restlessly and bunched up the blanket to her chest. She buried her nose in it and let herself drift peacefully with the comfort of a familiar smell that wasn't leaving her any time soon, and eventually fell asleep.

Sleep wasn't always restful, but only because she had mastered the art of lucid dreaming for all the years she occasionally awoke inside her crypt. It was the only way left to explore, to shape the world and narrative that she wanted to be in. The darker part of her would whisper how pathetic it was, but she held on to the voice that said how illuminating it was, and had been of great assistance to her when she wanted to figure out what she truly desired. She knew the world would hand nothing to her on a platter, and so she needed to grab it for herself.

Steeped in calm focus, Serana summoned the image of Graven to influence her brain what her goal was in her impending dreamstate. She performed reality checks often and looked down at her hands and feet, usually distorted in dreams, and pushed her index finger into the palm of her opposite hand, asking herself often whether she was dreaming before and after the action.

Her finger went through her palm, and she reminded herself that she had gotten comfortable on her side with the blanket in her chest. She looked around impenetrable darkness and smiled. _"I'm dreaming." _She channeled a book into existence, where it floated handily in front of her. She read the text of the book. _"The art of thievery. Of course." _She looked away, a subdued ache in her cheeks from smiling. When she looked back at the book, the text changed instead of remaining static as it would in the real world. She frowned at the title. _"The art of death. Lovely."_

Serana pushed the book away and looked around her surroundings. A peculiar sensation washed over her, and sometimes when she blinked, she would see flashes of an entirely different and nightmarish realm behind closed eyes. In one moment she would see a dark castle bearing great resemblance to Volkihar. In the next, a closed coffin with someone pounding beneath the lid.

Fear jolted through her, and she looked down at her hands to push her finger into her palm as she chanted to herself. "I'm safe." Her finger passed through. Her own dream wasn't responding to her though. She looked up, and reality shifted before her eyes, still witnessing flashes of something else.

_"Where am I? This isn't my dream anymore."_

A den of ravenous beasts watched her from the farthest corners of this warping darkness. In another corner, a moonlit sea. She was passively drawn to it and acquiesced that she may not entirely be in control of her dream, but she didn't care, so long as she was further away from the horrors that were awaiting her. The sea looked so far away, and Serana stopped walking so that she could channel it closer. She closed her eyes and jumped in her skin when a dremora lunged at her with a dagger, and pain she couldn't express in words swallowed her. She fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around her midriff as if a tiny thousand knives cut into her bowels.

A hand fell on her shoulder. "You're safe."

_"That voice..." _Serana reluctantly opened her eyes and saw Graven, kneeling in front of her. His ruby red eyes pierced the darkness and pushed it away, injecting all the familiar sights and smells of the sea and the ship. Most of the colors were monotone, where she could only decipher his eyes and the midnight silver sea. "I'm safe," she repeated.

Graven nodded. Another wave of color washed into view, and the ship regained it's various browns of wood and rope. His raven hair and ashen skin became vividly clear, and that smell of cinnamon sweetroll was **heavenly.** She looked down at her hand and poked at her palm, confused. Her finger didn't go through. This couldn't be real, though.

_"I want it to be."_

"Care for another dance? It may help settle your nerves." Graven rose and held his hand out to her. She took it and stood on unsteady feet, glancing down often at her stomach to cement the fact that she hadn't been cut. Her body melted with relief when his conformed to her. Peculiarly enough, she felt him as if he were real. His warmth pulsated and wrapped around her. She could feel every twinge of his muscle, indicating which direction he was going to rock to, and his fur collar brushed against her cheek when she rested her chin on his shoulder. It made her realize something.

"You're tall, considering you've taken mostly to the dunmer characteristics."

"I never fit in with them because of the altmer showing in more nuanced ways, but I've never had it as bad as my little sister," Graven softly explained.

"Little?" Serana smiled into his shoulder, and she could smell that spicy aroma coming from his coat. "You're the elder sibling in the household?"

"I know what you're thinking," he chuckled. She wondered how this conversation persisted when she didn't feel as though she was influencing it, but maybe it just came naturally with him. "To be fair, you haven't spent as much time with Runayr as you have with me. Wait until her shyness passes with you. She's the one who's taught me the ways of staying young. Mischief is her specialty."

"I'm having trouble believing that," Serana teased. "I can definitely see you being her teacher, with your most passionate lessons invested in tomfoolery."

"I've other passionate lessons reserved for a special student." The low husk in his voice pulled something from her. She shoved it back down into the deepest depths of her mind, but was not unaware of the warmth that spread throughout her face, bringing the chilly air to her attention. Her fingers worked with minds of their own as she undid the clasp of his coat and pushed it off his shoulders. Their slow dance shifted to an intimate one, where each mouth explored the skin of the other.

That something was pulled from her again when her fangs touched his neck, and they both groaned for what she knew were far different reasons. His lifeblood was pounding away in that artery again, and she could hear his every heartbeat. It picked up the pace when she kissed his neck.

Before she knew it, she was against the ship railing. She was turned around and smirked when his body conformed to her back, his arms locked around her to stop her.

"You're a dangerous woman, Serana."

"Scared I'll bite?"

"Not at all. This is for **your** protection. You did state you do not wish to be courted, and you are catastrophically close to having your mind changed."

Serana laughed. "Catastrophic? Still not lacking your confidence, I see." Her laughter was cut short with a hiss when he swept her hair out to the side, pulled on her shirt to expose her shoulder, and nibbled on the meaty flesh between teeth. His hands explored but remained polite as they stayed in innocent areas, playfully skirting on the edge of temptation. He ran his hands down and up her thighs, his fingertips gliding on the inner border. They never ventured close to her pelvis. She sought her revenge by pressing into his body and hissed when he bit her shoulder harder to muffle his groan, and she smirked at the reaction she pulled out of him.

_"Maybe I am 'catastrophically' close to changing my mind." _Not something she would admit out loud.

"You make me feel like an undomesticated animal," Graven grunted, and the way he held her was a prime example of him being torn between civility and savagery.

"An undomesticated animal?" Serana chuckled. She understood what he meant, but she couldn't help but tease. "You're only realizing that now?"

"I'm not without restraint or my manners. I would like to believe I've been doing well in expressing that, or is that not so?" Graven pouted in her neck. Her head lulled back and relaxed on his shoulder as he kissed lazily, giving them time to simmer from the more explosive emotions that she was sure dwelled as strongly in his chest... as hers. She was delighted to feel the scruff of his chin scratch her skin, and some of the longer locks teased with every light brush as he moved.

"You have been. You've surprised me, actually," she admitted. It was then she remembered this was a dream, and she could ask anything she wanted. Whether his answer was a reflection of what she wanted him to say, or a manifestation of the spirit she's channeled into her dream, she would never know. "Is it genuine? Have you been acting like this just to get my guard down, before you come in to claim your prize?"

Graven hummed into her neck, before planting a more daring kiss on her jaw. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rocked from side to side, his lips moving on her skin, breath warming her chin. "You are more than a prize, but I truthfully cannot deny that I do wish for your guard to lower so that you can see who you are when you allow someone in."

"How can you say that? You can't be motivated purely by consideration of me."

"Well, of course I'm selfish and wish to see the same, but things become even more beautiful when you are allowed inside the core of a person who is happy with themselves and at peace with the things that make them happy. I hope to become one of those things that make you happy and are at peace with."

Serana fell silent and reflected on his words. She looked down and noticed how his hands weren't distorted at all. What was that supposed to mean, with how she felt about him and her ability to dream this lucidly? Her hands smoothed over his, experimentally hooking her fingers in between the grooves of his knuckles. She rocked from side to side with him, and that insecure feeling she had before over how ridiculous she must have looked doing this had all but faded away. She was beginning to enjoy this rather than shame and attack it. She was beginning to feel at peace, at least with this. But there was one thing that she couldn't get over.

"We haven't known each other for long, it's absurd," she mumbled.

"What is?"

"These... feelings. It's all absurd, and it'd be absurd to continue it. We can't."

Graven stopped, his body rigid, his breath hitched. She could sense his deflation before hearing him. He sucked in a deep breath and rested his forehead on the back of her shoulder. "Why is it absurd? Why can't we? Is it something that I'm doing, something that's pushing you away? I'm trying not to be pushy."

"It's not you." Serana chewed her lip and squeezed his hands. She tried to rock side to side to get him back into the motion, but stopped when he just stood there like a rock. She kicked herself over and over again for her brusque ways, but he deserved honesty, honesty she couldn't give him in reality. This was just a dream, and she knew it, and she still couldn't give it to him. She sighed and peeled herself out of his embrace, already missing the warmth of him against her back, and forced a smile. "It's not you, Graven, I promise."

"It's not you either," he whispered. His hand slid on her cheek, and it tore her into two when she leaned away from it. His touch and the feelings it instilled was just as dangerous. She felt vulnerable and naked when his observation cut her to the core. It was almost frightening, until once again, she remembered this was a dream and Graven was her manifestation. Of course he knew her to the core, here.

"There's a force beyond your control that you're afraid of. Why? What is it?"

Serana stared. She didn't have it in her to tell the truth. She didn't want to lose him completely as soon as he found out about her father, and how powerful she actually was, through wealth and bloodline. Maybe she wouldn't lose him physically, but if he was enticed by that power, losing him in that manner would be even worse. She looked into the distance, out at sea, and when she blinked, the corners resurfaced. He looked with her, both looking at the dark castle. The den of ravenous beasts were akin to what she knew awaited them once they stepped foot in that castle. They may not physically rip her apart, but they would with their tongues, and they would with their fangs sinking into Graven.

"That," she muttered and pointed to the castle. "I'll lose you as soon we step foot in there."

"And that's a guarantee, is it? So are you keeping your distance to protect me... or you?"

Serana chewed her lip. She hung her head, fingers twisting in his shirt as she ran her hands up and down his chest. She could be honest here without repercussions. She had to keep reminding herself of that. "Me. It'll hurt less if we don't grow more. I've already lost everything I've ever cared about." Her head fell on his shoulder, twirling a frayed thread of his shirt around her finger. Her voice fell so quiet that she could barely hear herself.

"I don't want to lose all over again."

"Serana..."

It hurt just to say it. Her eyes burned when he suddenly disappeared with the ship and the sea, and her hands caught stale air. Impenetrable darkness fell and she couldn't see anything. _"I don't want to see anything anymore. It hurts." _In the distance, there were knocks, and her name among them. She circled around until she saw the cabin door in the distance and closed her eyes to channel it closer. Before she opened it, she looked down at herself and pushed her index finger into her palm. It went through.

One last knock pulled her body through the closed door. "Sera? May I come in?"

Serana's eyes snapped open and she sat up. He knocked again, and the door opened slowly.

"Serana?"

She squirreled the blanket up to cover herself. The two were locked in a staring contest and her breath caught in her throat when his gaze traveled down to her bare legs. She drew them under the blanket and coughed to get his eyes back on hers. He smiled nervously when he did, caught obviously red-handed, and cleared his throat.

"The sun has set. Want me to pull the anchor up, or do you want to sleep in?"

Sleeping in sounded heavenly, because it prolonged the inevitable. That was all it did though. She couldn't run away from inevitability. She hugged the blanket closer to her chest and closed her eyes, the distant image of them dancing in her dream. It was going to be a distant memory soon.

"Sera, is everything okay? Does this mean you want to sleep?" He sounded eager about that. That didn't bode well for what boredom may have done to the deck above.

"Everything's okay, and no." She wiped her face and carded her hair back, grimacing when she caught knots and disheveled hair. She must have been a sight to see. She looked out of the porthole, where glimmers of the sunset's colors faded into the night. It must have been beautiful to watch the sun disappear behind the sea. She longed to see it again someday, but there were a lot of things she longed for and knew she couldn't have. She sighed. "I'll be up there soon."

Graven didn't say anything. He stood in silence, and she looked over at him, confused and waiting for a response. The look in his eyes made her uncomfortable.

"Do you actually want to go home, Serana?"

_"**No.**" _Serana wanted to scream. _"But I have to." _She looked back out of the porthole, the lie thickening and drying her tongue. "Yes."

"Alright, then. I'll go work on that anchor." Graven turned, but he lingered at the door. He tapped the frame and mumbled. "You don't have to, you know."

He left before she had the chance to redeem otherwise. The silence forced her to reflect. _"I do have to." _Serana chewed her lip.

_"Don't I?"_

* * *

Author's Note

Shout out to Destiny as always for being an amazing human being! The balance between light and dark is always tricky to get and I hope I'm not pushing it too much for Graven to be the dry comic relief and to keep the tension from suffocating them or the readers. Perspective really is everything when it comes to tackling problems, and I hope I'm showcasing that with the issues they both harbor. For now it's Serana more so than Graven but he'll have his share where she'll be the light in his darkness.

Thanks to everybody following along! I swear there will be more romance than introspective growth soon. All my ideas are turning out a lot longer written down than the one-liners in my head lol. See you in chapter 13!


	13. Chapter 13

_"What has he done for all this time?" _Serana's curiosity superseded priorities. She studied the deck and saw nothing amiss, save for a fishing rod and a hobble-cobbled cooking station. She honestly expected the deck to be destroyed with a madman's scribbles or a light show of nonfunctional magic. She glanced over at Graven, who cussed under his breath as he struggled to bring the heavy anchor up, and she smiled as she approached. "Sorry, I should have warned you. Ships usually have a small crew just for this part. Let me help."

"I have never been more tempted to jump in ice-cold water and just Thu'um the s'wit out of that anchor until it shoots out of water."

"Don't be ridiculous," Serana chuckled. "You'd freeze to death. And what's s'wit mean again?"

"Slow wit, or, more crudely: shit wit. At least I can die knowing I haven't been beaten by a bloody anchor. What is it even made out of?"

"You're mad, anchors don't possess wit. And something heavy enough to keep a heavy ship in place?"

"Yes. Thank you. That's enlightening, I would've never solved that on my own." Graven groaned.

"You asked." Serana shrugged. "You never said it had to be a smart answer." She folded up her sleeves and came up behind him to take the rope. "We have to pull at the same time. Do you want to coordinate, or me?"

"Is that a trick question? You're the only one around who knows what she's doing."

_"He can't even-" _Serana sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright. On the count of three, we pull. Ready? One. Two. Three!"

They dug their heels in and pulled with all their might, or Serana did anyway. She smirked and said nothing when his feet slipped on the deck, and she eased her way into leaning back as the tension threatened to pull her more. She waited silently until Graven fixed himself and rubbed his hands on his trousers, before panicking and grabbing the rope again. He shot a sheepish look at her. "Sorry, didn't mean to make you hold that. My hands hurt..."

"It's fine." She curled the rope around one arm and offered him a hand. The flabbergasted look he made was too much and she laughed. "Careful, I think you're drooling. Vampiric strength, Graven. Now give me your hands, I'll chill them so they don't swell. They look like they're chafed raw."

"They are," he grumbled. He seemed more sullen about the part where she had no issues with the anchor. "I wish Erandur were here so he could heal them."

"You don't know the basics of healing?"

Graven shrugged. "I've always been lucky for someone else to know of restoration, which was Runayr, and then Erandur. You wouldn't like to find out what restoration spells I do know."

"What do you mean?" Serana chilled his hands as promised, then hissed when he paid back the favor by channeling the most repulsive ball of light in his hand. Her fangs bared.

"That's what I mean," he grinned and extinguished the light. "It's to repel... undead." A brief look crossed his stoic face, but left too soon to tell what it was.

Serana didn't want to dwell on the topic. "Let's get this anchor up already."

It took several failed coordinated attempts before they both finally transitioned into a rhythm together. With determination and teamwork, the anchor was back on the boat in no time. Serana smiled when Graven fell on the deck, limbs sprawled out, gulping for air and being all-around noisy. She balanced on the balls of her feet, poking his cheek when he closed his eyes and seemed ready to fall asleep right there.

"Don't die on me now," she teased. He huffed and his teeth playfully snapped at her fingers on her next poke. "Go on, I'm sure the bed is more comfortable than here."

"I don't want to go," Graven sighed. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "Unless... do you want me to go?"

_"Damn him." _Serana hated being thrown to the pit like this. She never knew what to say, and it always saddened her when reality won over desire. She rose and left for the steering wheel without giving him a straight answer. She opened the box of the compass and looked out at sea. "You need to rest. If we sail well, then we should be home before dawn." She removed the club to unlock the wheel and began to steer, aware of the gaze on her. Her body grew rigid when he approached her and came up behind her.

"I have connections. We can ask friends about your elder scroll, Sera."

"And I have a duty," she whispered. She teetered on the brink of sanity when his hands came to rest on her hips. "Please don't do this to me, Graven."

"I'm not doing anything except offering a choice. It's up to you to decide what path to take, I can't make that decision for you." His hands rolled up her waist, and her dream pulsated in her mind. All she wanted to do was lock this wheel and explore with their hands and mouths as they did in the dream, but then she would be opening the door to a world of hurt. She pushed his hands off.

"No, but you're trying to manipulate me into making the decision you want me to make."

"How so?" Graven hummed into her neck. It made her freeze, and all she could think about was the kiss on the jaw she dreamed of, or the way he pulled on her sleeve to expose her shoulder to his lips. She shuddered in his hands. Her head lulled back to rest on his shoulder, and one of her hands developed a mind of it's own as it released the wheel to hook behind her, around his neck. Before she could fix that, he sucked in a patch of skin between teeth and seduced a gasp out of her. She tightened her hold on him and the wheel for dear life, her breaths falling out of coordination.

"You don't want to go," he murmured before he nibbled on another patch of skin. "So help me understand why you're still going along with something you don't have to do."

"I... do have to."

"Why?"

"Because I just have to." Serana arched into him when he found a sensitive spot on the crook of her neck and shoulder.

_"Now shut up and don't stop.__"_

She wished she had the courage to say that, but courage was in short supply for her. She couldn't find her voice and prayed he **wouldn't** do the right thing, because she wasn't sure her dreamstate could concoct anything even half as good as these sensations. Her nerves buzzed and serene pleasure shot out with every well-placed kiss on her throat, melting her muscles. It was thrilling and terrifying, what he was doing to her body, and yet she couldn't remember a time where she was more relaxed than this. He touched her with such care and reverence that it threatened to break her.

_"I don't deserve this kindness."_

"Graven..."

"I hear that tone." He moved and tended to the other side of her neck. "Allow me to indulge a few minutes more before you try to convince yourself you're undeserving. Allow me to convince you that you **are** deserving." He wrapped his arms around her waist and rocked from side to side. The nuanced detail bore resemblance to the same move in the dream, and it unhinged her.

Serana looked down at her hand to poke her palm. Warmth collected on her face when Graven stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"Why are you poking yourself? Do you need me to pinch you to prove this isn't a dream?"

Embarrassed, Serana huffed with pride. "My hand's itchy."

"Mm hm." Graven grinned. "What was it that you told me before? Ah, yes. Just lose with grace, Sera." He turned her by her shoulders and cupped her cheek, his bandaged hand scratchy against delicate skin. "Before you go through with this, may I selfishly ask for an hour of this night with you, and your hand to dance?" His grin widened. "Your itchy hand, that is."

Serana landed a swift jab on his shoulder and it made him laugh. He pretended it hurt and rubbed his arm, then caught her off guard and yanked on hers, making her crash into him with a yelp. He didn't waste a second and rocked from side to side, holding her hip and her 'itchy' hand.

"You're like a diamond," he whispered by her ear, and she snorted a laugh. She was about to remark on the cheesiness of the compliment until he brought down the hammer. "You need a little pressure. And heat. Something tells me that even if I burn too bright, that's what you come for. Is that an accurate statement?"

"It's one out of the blue," Serana mumbled. "Where has this idea come from?"

"You didn't deny it, I'll take that as a confession."

"It's neither a denial nor a confession. You still didn't answer where that came from."

"From you, of course. It's inspired by you. You're already pressured by this apparent duty and idea where you must go home, and I wish to be the force that counters that, to show that you don't have to do anything you don't want to. There lies the beauty of freedom and choice. If you feel as though it is wrong to return-"

"Because it would be wrong not to return."

"So you're choosing the wrong that absolves you of the consequences that would come from your own decision, adhering to the consequences of what someone else has decided? What I'm having trouble understanding is why you would waste your energy inserting yourself into a situation, not enjoy yourself, disagree with what's going on, and furthermore expend even more energy to remove yourself from that very same situation."

"You don't know that's how it's going to turn out."

"Perhaps not right away." Graven squeezed her hand. "I did not find you at home, Serana. I found you locked under an intricate bloodseal in a cave far out of the way of travelers, lost for eras to come. Had it not been a Vigilant of Stendarr's research into vampiric artifacts and stumbling on you in that cave, you would still be trapped. It was thanks to him, not whoever intended to free you, for it was only because of his research that the vampires found out and slaughtered the Vigilants for it. How is it that a priest was able to find out about you during an idle hobby, but not a family of vampires with aeons to live and a daughter lost? Did they not want to find you, or were they responsible for your seal?"

Serana chewed her lip. She tucked herself close and rested her head against his chest. "It's complicated."

"Is it because of the elder scroll?"

"I'm not going to change my mind, Graven. I'm going home."

"How can you trust me when you spend more time shutting me out?"

"I never said I wanted to," she hissed without thinking. "You're the one who wants to trust me just because you're enamored by whatever fairy tale you have in your head. And that's not going to happen either."

"You want it to."

"You don't know what I want." Serana was beginning to get very annoyed, very fast. His confidence was one matter, but his arrogant presumptions were aggravating.

"You wouldn't continue to dance with-"

She pushed away and stormed back to the wheel. Her skin crawled when he sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets, smiling sadly at her.

"You tease me for being a child often. Don't you think trying to stick it to me is borderline childish? Why is it so hard for you to be honest?"

"I am being honest," she grumbled. "Just because it's not something you want to hear doesn't mean I'm dishonest." She removed the club from the steering wheel and turned it, wishing the winds were stronger to push the sails. The ship groaned and creaked, moving ever so slowly. This was going to be an extra long trip if he didn't leave her alone and stop talking.

"Are you? I don't expect you to be honest to me, but at least be honest to yourself." Graven picked up and slung his coat over his arm as he left for the hatch. "Well then, I'll retire to the cabin. Wake me up if you need anything, and help yourself to the fish I caught if you'd like. Let me know if you need a fire to cook it." He stopped and carded his hand through his hair, looking over at her. She ignored it, but she wasn't so blessed to ignore what forced it's way into her brain.

"It is far simpler to discredit a man than listen to the uncomfortable truth he tells."

Serana waited a minute after the hatch closed to groan as loud as she could. She locked the wheel and walked to the bow of the ship as it sailed straight with no destination planned, and couldn't bother checking the compass to see if she was even sailing closer or farther away from home. This was driving her mad. He was driving her mad. He kept challenging her and what she wanted at every turn, and postured as if he was everything she could have ever wanted. _"Haughty man, he's no different than past suitors. It's like it would kill them to think beyond their ego."  
_

Or was it her that it would kill if she would just listen to that uncomfortable truth? Graven had proven that he was not without wisdom or reason, and she had the sense that much of it was learned the hard way. She groaned again and rested her forehead against the railing.

"You make my head hurt, Graven," she sighed. _"You'd think a vampire hunter would be more than content to let a vampire ruin her life, but no... He has to meddle." _Her arms dumped over her head, fingers idly brushing the spot on her neck that he kissed. She pondered on what he meant by her coming to him even if he burned too bright. _"Maybe an allegory to his brand of honesty?" _

He wasn't wrong about heat. She should have hated it, yet now she found herself missing his warmth the second he wasn't near her. _"So much for the House of Troubles and avoiding those Daedric Lords. He wishes to court the product of Molag Bal's power. He's like Sheogorath incarnate right now, driving me to the edge of insanity." _Serana softly hit her head against the railing in a rhythm meant to stir some sort of decision, but what it was she was deciding, she was too scatterbrained to tell. There were so many different things that needed her say and her attention. Graven kept coming to the forefront of her mind, and so he must be dealt with first.

Serana didn't think about it and descended to the lower level in a flurry. She froze in front of the door, her brain having caught up with her, but it was too slow to stop the hand that rapped on the door. She cringed. _"There goes thinking things through."_ She listened for him, but there wasn't any noise. There was a rather putrid smell though, like something rotting. "Graven? May I come in?"

There was no answer, and she counted her blessings. _"Silent. He's asleep, then."_

Something crashed inside the room and he yelped. Serana cursed herself. _"Never mind." _She cracked the door open a sliver for her voice to carry in. "Graven, are you okay?"

"Don't come in!"

_"Well now I want to." _Serana tried to respect his request, but she was curious. She opened the door a little more and hissed when a bright light exploded before her eyes.

"Out, out!" A hand pushed at her to turn around. She wanted to demand why he was attacking her with this light, and her question lost it's appetite when he didn't shut up. "Before I traumatize you!"

"Please tell me you have your loincloth on," she groaned.

"I was changing," Graven blurted. It was the most unconvincing thing she'd ever heard him say and her cheeks scorched hot. "I swear I was changing."

"I believe you," Serana blurted back. _"I don't believe him at all."_ She was very conscious with where her hands were and waved over her shoulder as she stepped forward. "Just put the light out and I'll find my way to one of the other cabins. Let me know once you're done... changing."

"Promise you won't look?"

"I promise." Serana wanted to roll her eyes, but she couldn't risk such a move with him so close. _"I don't want to traumatize myself either."_

The bright ambient light disappeared and she could finally see the hallway. She rushed to one of the other cabins and closed the door, leaning against it with all her might. The weight of what Graven might have been doing, that had nothing to do with changing unless it was to change his loincloth for a more preeminent reason, had taken the root of her anxiety and soared to the heavens with it. She honestly felt nauseous.

_"How am I supposed to face him now? I can't!"_

Minutes later of hyperventilating and internal panic, and the most hesitant knock came on her door. She closed her eyes and wished she was anywhere but there.

"Sera?"

Gods, Graven sounded so pathetic.

"Sera, I'm very sorry you had to witness that... You didn't see anything, did you?"

"No," she affirmed quickly. _"The worst is over. It can't get worse than this. We can move past this."_ She took a deep breath. "Nothing at all."

"You didn't hear anything either, right?"

_"This can get worse." _Serana chewed her lip and shook her head, even if he couldn't see her. "No, I didn't hear anything."

"And you didn't smell anything?"

_"Please stop making this worse, Graven." _She didn't dare mention the smell she most definitely smelled, but her mouth ran off on her. "Like something rotting."

Graven groaned. Something thudded on the other side of the door. "Sera, I promise you it isn't what you think it is."

_"I wish it was anything but what I'm thinking right now." _

"But sometimes I like to experiment and-"

"**Stop.** You are **not** helping me. You're inventing new ways to make this worse and I just..." Serana whirled around and whipped the door open to confront him. "What were you thinking? Have you no shame? I'm just on the deck above!"

"I thought I'd have privacy to experiment, like before!"

_"Molag Bal **take him, **he did it earlier too?!" _Serana's hand closed over his mouth and horror seized her. "We're on the same ship!"

"We're on different floors, and you have to sail because you have to go home and-" Graven's head hung lower and lower like a child being punished, forced to sit in the corner. "I've been getting brilliant ideas thanks to you, I just wanted to experiment."

Her hand closed around his mouth even tighter. She wished the words were muffled and distorted beyond comprehension, and she couldn't utter for him to stop, in shock.

"I love trying new things and seeing what happens and- ow! Ow, ow, ow, ease up!"

"Graven." Serana was about ready to break his jaw. She came in close to his face with the most menacing of a look as any vampire in the history had. "That is wrong. **You** are wrong. Ideas because of me? Inspiration?"

He nodded.

"That wasn't meant to be answered!" She didn't know if she wanted to flay him alive, but her embarrassment demanded justice. Who knew what he was thinking of, of her?

_"And what is with that god awful smell?" _

It wouldn't disappear. She braced herself for the absolute worst and released him, marching for the room. His pleas for her to stop fell on deaf ears. If he had those sorts of intentions with her, it was best to find out what specifically those intentions were so that she had scarring evidence for her heart to stop thinking of him with absurd romantic notions.

"Wait, please, Serana!" He rushed around her and blocked the door. "You can't see it, it's embarrassing!"

"All the more reason why I should see it with my own eyes. If you blind me with that light again, I'll... unsheathe my dagger," she growled.

Graven gasped. "You wouldn't."

"I **would. **Now step out of my way." She restrained her true strength, but she wasn't overly gentle as she grabbed his shoulder and pushed him over to open the door. All the horrors she had imagined, with some dark and dingy cabin repurposed to sate twisted fetishes, had been pushed to the further corners of her mind. Fresh fish hung from the rafters, with a disarray of improvised tools of pots and broken off handles. _"When did he even bring all this fish down here?"_ The pots were balanced carefully on edges of drawers with enough space for a hand that could conjure fire to fit beneath them. She stood, staring and stuck, thumbing at the set up when she looked at him. "What is this?"

Graven buried his face in his hands. "It's a disgrace is what it is."

"Graven. What. Is. This."

His head lifted and he peered at her with a mix of horror and confusion. "Is it so bad that you can't tell what it is?"

Serana grabbed the hilt of her dagger, but hadn't unsheathed it, and came up to his face to rattle and intimidate the answer out of him. It worked like a charm.

"Alchemy! It's an alchemy set up!"

Serana waved an arm at what could have possibly been the furthest thing she had imagined. "Why would you be embarrassed about that?! The truth is better!"

"The truth?" He looked puzzled. "I can't imagine anything worse than what's in there. Also, you may not want to sleep in there tonight. I know vampires are immune to poison, but the pot of river betty exploded on me and contaminated everything. Should I wash myself? I think changing my clothes should be okay, but-"

She groaned and stormed off.

"Wait, Sera! What did you think I was doing?"

_"Something I didn't think I would feel disappointed over that it didn't happen."_

* * *

Author's Note

HaMiroKar420: There will be more on Molag Bal yes, and Vaermina as well since they do share a connection! Thank you very much for taking the time to review and I'm glad you've been enjoying the story :)

SeraphimicDestiny: She will slowly loosen those bonds but not without a fight! Change is hard and sometimes you have to hit rock bottom first. It's a shame she's treated more like a chess piece than a daughter and that there's not much conclusion to her or her character growth after the DLC is done and Harkon's dead, but that's what fanfiction is for :D


	14. Chapter 14

They sailed the opposite direction.

_"Kill me."_

Serana was in a miserable mood. They hadn't sailed too far away without her at the helm, but that was kind of the problem. She was the only one that could justify the travel time it would take and she kept the distance a secret from Graven, who shivered and jumped on his spot even with his thick coat on. She smiled every time he made the most sullen look over her casual attire, glaring at him when he had so much as a hint of a flame on his fingertip for warmth.

"Not fair," he hissed between chattering teeth. "Do I have to be out here? It's freezing in the night!"

"You're the one that followed me up here," she pointed out with a dry tone. "Do you remember why?"

"Of course not."

Serana chuckled. "Confident even when it's not your finest moment. You are something else."

His grin rattled things inside of her. She played it calm and collected, nonchalant while she steered. She would have been a liar if she said she hadn't wished to feel his presence closer to her. It wasn't something she would ever admit out loud. _"At least I'm being honest with myself, like he said. He doesn't expect me to be honest to him." _She glimpsed at him. _"Come to think of it... he never seems to expect anything. From me, or anything. I guess his love for experimentation extends beyond alchemy and magic." _

Her eyes were caught.

He smiled, and there was something electrifying about it, but subdued as if he was harnessing a secret. "Something on your mind, Serana?"

_"Plenty." _She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

She nodded.

"Hm..." Graven capered over to her, and the spring in his step rattled those things inside of her again. She faced forward, stiff as cold muscles roused from sleep. A bold finger traced from the knuckle of her index, down the thin metacarpal bone and to her wrist. He gently brushed back and forth that line as he fixated his gaze squarely on hers, for as much as he could study beside her. She stiffened even more when his hand fell. "You're lying."

Serana refused to let it show on her face and shrugged. "That's your opinion."

"It's fact. An over-thinker does not simply have nothing on her mind." He clasped his wrists behind him and faced forward. She wanted to melt with relief then and there. She couldn't handle all the conflicting thoughts and feelings inside of her, while he played with his boundaries. A glint danced in those red eyes, as if he knew something she didn't, and his restrained playfulness prodded her curiosity. He gestured to the open sea before them. "An entire sea of water can't sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship."

Her eyes slid over to observe him and deduce where he was going with this, but when his gaze connected with hers, she looked away. She chewed the inside of her lip when he chuckled, but played it cool. "Where did that come from? What are you alluding to?"

"You don't want to go home." He didn't even bat an eye, but held up a finger to silence the protest she was about to stir. "Let me finish first, and then you can refute the truth."

_"The truth! Where does he get all these ideas and arrogance from?"_

Was it really arrogance?

"You're also trying to protect me and you from whatever is waiting for us at home." Graven peered at her, and she knew he was scrutinizing her expressions. "An entire sea of water can't sink a ship unless it gets inside the ship. Whatever horrors and negativity await us, I assure you, it cannot put us down." He turned to her and his finger came to rest upon her lips when her mouth opened, silencing another protest. "Unless we allow it to get inside us. I plan to disallow it."

Something about him allowed touch. Her brain screamed that she had turned him down and explicitly remembered telling him she didn't want to be courted, but her body was telling him otherwise. She closed her eyes when his hands fell on her shoulders as he stepped behind her, rubbing up and down her arms.

"You can't defeat your demons if you're still enjoying their company, Serana. Don't be a prisoner of your past. It was just a lesson, not a life sentence, and if you don't let it die then it won't let you live." Graven tentatively wrapped his arms around her in an embrace. She should've pushed away from him. She sunk deeper instead, even when he gently prodded her with his conclusion. "I'm finished now."

Serana sucked in a slow breath. She shook her head and opened her eyes, fixated on his gray hands, thumbs idly swiping up and down. "What makes you think I'm a prisoner?"

"Your body and expressions betray you more than your tongue, especially when you think you're not being watched." His forehead rested against the back of her head. "There is a reason why I turn to the windows and the portholes, or the wine bottles. They are the windows to the soul, bearing the reflection of your true feelings to what I say, rather than your tempered responses. You don't need to choose your words with me, Sera." He tightened his embrace. "I hope that one day you'll also feel that we can be honest to each other without repercussions."

Second by second, the warmth of his breath grew hotter and nearer. Her words were choked off and her head lulled back on his shoulder when he kissed her neck. They trailed off to her shoulder as he pulled on her sleeve to expose it, murmuring paralytic words into her skin.

"You're safe."

_"What the?"_ Serana couldn't risk poking her palm to see if this was a dream, not when he could see it. She resorted to other little tricks like pinching herself, or looking around to see if there was anything she could read that would stay static if this was reality. She didn't remember going to bed and initiating another bout of lucid dreaming. Her breath wooshed out of her when he let go of her and took a step back. Who said he could stop?

"And I will do my best to ensure you stay safe and **free** even when we return home." He slid his hands over hers on the wheel's pegs. Despite his shivers over the chill in the air, his skin pulsed images of fire in her mind. He slipped away and head towards the hatch, but not before he looked her dead in the eye. "Promise me you'll wake me up when we get there?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Serana blurted.

He smiled. It was small, stricken with a lace of angst, exposing sorrow buried in the soul. He disappeared without an answer.

_"Not one of my favorite habits of yours, Graven." _Serana thought with a heavy sigh. She renewed her focus on sailing, but her mind strayed and ventured off to reflect on his words. He was so young and yet his soul was old, bearing the weight of wisdom that seemed to scream of personal experience, one that she could relate to.

Minutes later, the hatch opened, but only Graven's head popped out in a fury. "Sera!"

The frantic gesture roused adrenaline and her heart kicked at her chest, ready and bracing herself for some sort of emergency or battle. "What? What's wrong?"

He looked guilty. "I'm sorry, Sera, I did it again. I should have asked you first."

_"Ominous." _Serana's brow creased. "Asked me about what?"

"I experimented again."

_"Kill me." _The images in her mind refused to leave despite knowing the truth.

Graven stepped out, and her eyes widened at the disaster of slimy goo on his clothes. "And the pot blew up on me."

"Again?"

His head hung. "Again."

Pain bit her lip when she stopped herself from laughing, but her voice shook with it. "We don't have an infinite supply of cabins and clothes, Graven."

"I know... Any chance you've seen any buckets and spare rope? I'm going to cast it overboard to fill them with water."

Serana pointed in the direction of the ship's stern. She bit her lip harder when he emerged fully, his footsteps squelching and slipping about. She fought hard to stay mature and focused on her task at hand, but he looked so embarrassed and miserable in between the cracks of the stoic veneer he fought just as hard to maintain. It was thoroughly amusing to see him struggling just to pull a bucket of water back up on the deck, his foot propped against the railing for leverage as he pulled with his full body.

_"That anchor must have slaughtered his arms. I could help..."_

It didn't mean she would.

Why would she get rid of her entertainment? It made sailing less mind-numbing, and took the edge off the scrambling reflection over him. She sincerely did her best not to smile when he squelched his way back to the hatch with half the water spilling out his buckets. He took many trips, and it was only when silence prolonged for what felt like an era that it forced realization to dawn, when his earnest voice echoed in her thoughts.

_"I enjoy your company, Sera."_

Serana folded her arms on top of the wheel's pegs and burrowed her mouth in her forearm, muffling her confession. "I enjoy your company, Grave."

Grave. Lazy with the last syllable, like him, but it had a profound effect on the images within her mind. She jolted in her skin when she could almost see the coffin behind her eyes and hear the pounding of the lid. She rushed to poke her palm and scrutinized the finger that hadn't gone through. She wasn't dreaming. She wondered if some of the things Graven said were just injected from her dream just as the memories were injecting themselves now.

_"I must be tired. Perhaps I'll retire to the cabins and get some real sleep, if there are any cabins left that haven't been abused by Graven." _She smiled at that. The temptation was strong to neglect her duty for one more night, but she was torn and couldn't pull herself away from the wheel. She needed to relax though. Tension bulked in her shoulders and being uptight wasn't going to get her any closer to clarity for anything, at this rate. _"If only I had a good book, or something."  
_

A loud explosion was muffled beneath the hatch, and she rolled her eyes when she heard Graven's yelp. _"Nothing is going to be spared in there."_

Minutes later, the hatch opened, and Graven's head popped out with less gusto and more hesitance than ever before. "Sera?"

"Did it explode again, Graven?"

His head hung. "Yes..."

_"Gods, he sounds so sullen." _She locked the club in the wheel and reluctantly went to him. "Would you like some help?"

Ruby eyes lit up like a match. "With my experiment?"

_"Can he please stop saying experiment?" _Serana shrugged. "I was thinking cleaning, but sure. I know a bit of alchemy too. Maybe I can help you with your... experiment."

Graven's enthusiasm seemed dulled, for some reason. He regarded her with this deeply thoughtful and serious look that was unbecoming of his current disaster of an appearance. Her hand reached with a mind of it's own to comb the slime that drooped down his forehead and flicked the excess off her hand with indifference rather than disgust, and it seemed to be what won him over. He snatched her wrist and pulled her down the hatch without warning, and he laughed like a madman.

"Forget alchemy, I have better ideas with you!"

_"Very ominous now." _Serana allowed herself to be dragged, and her suspicions were correct about there not being any cabins left. Each one they passed had either possessed a putrid smell, broken things strewn about, or goo dripping down walls. She was brought to what was probably the last normal one left, and her heart raced when Graven stripped. That didn't bode well with what he just said. _"What kind of ideas does he have?!"_

"W-what are you doing Graven?"

"I want you to freeze my clothes in thick ice, and then I'm going to set the ice on fire." He didn't seem to put any considerable thought at all behind his madness, both words and action. He threw his clothes on the floor and abruptly left the room. "One second! Don't start without me!"

Serana stared at the doorway in disbelief. The man strut about in his loincloth with all the confidence and nonchalance in the world. She did not ever think she would ever get to **this** stage of a relationship. If this could be called a relationship. _"What in Oblivion is this, actually? I told him I didn't want to be courted, yet he persists, and yet he also treats me as if I'm Erandur or something. I don't understand him..."_

Was this normal in this era? Was this how normal or not well-off people acted around each other? _"I hope Runayr isn't like this with other men or these two need to be told this isn't what someone does." _Not in Serana's world anyways. She jumped in her skin when Graven whipped around the corner with the biggest grin to date, holding a bucket in each hand. _  
_

"After we finish with my clothes, I have another experiment we can do together. I'm learning how to manipulate water." He was so giddy, like a child. He sat cross-legged on the floor and set the buckets aside to tap his dirty clothes. "Go on, now. Freeze them."

_"I only have about a hundred questions I'd like to ask first." _But she went ahead with it anyways and shrugged, stretching her hand out towards the clothes as she chilled the air in the entire room. She smirked when Graven shivered and rubbed himself on the floor, goosebumps breaking out all over his gray skin, but his riveted focus was completely invested in his clothes. _"He doesn't care about anything else except useless experiments. What does he even seek to gain with this?"_

Whatever it was, she couldn't deny being curious. She snapped her fingers and froze the clothes. He waved his hand over and flames erupted, dancing on top of the block of ice. He laughed. "Doesn't that look cool? Or hot, I guess. Actually now I don't know. What a confusing and contradicting predicament, indeed."

Serana stared at him. "Is there any purpose beyond that?"

"Does there have to be?"

She gaped in disbelief. "You made me waste my magicka just for something to look cool and make bad jokes about it?"

Graven either didn't hear the problem in her tone and question, or ignored it. He shrugged and extinguished the flames, then dragged a bucket over. He hovered his hand above the water and closed his eyes. _"__I was under the impression he got the water to wash his clothes. I need to remember that common sense doesn't apply to him."_

"What are you doing now?" Serana asked.

"Concentrating. Meditating. Relaxing. The mind opens up more when one is immersed in creativity rather than practicality. The answers become clearer. Intuitive."

She frowned. "What answers are you seeking?"

Silence was her only answer. She knelt to watch his progress. Her curiosity was sparked once again when the water from the bucket drew up and flowed towards his palm, defying gravity. Runes activated on his tattooed arm and torso. Electric blue wisps floated away from his skin, dousing the room in light that hadn't harmed her to look at. How he was able to make something that couldn't be molded or controlled to bend to his will was nothing short of fascinating.

"To what end are you learning to manipulate water?" Serana was lost in the sight as the trail of water weaved circles as it crawled up his arm. _"How is he commanding it?"  
_

"To unlock it's secrets in how to create it," he murmured peacefully. His brows lightly scrunched, and droplets of sweat mixed with the specks of goo on his face. His expression flickered, lost out of concentration, and the water came crashing down with a disappointed sigh. The glow of the runes on his skin dispersed. He opened his eyes and looked ashamed. "In the College of Winterhold, the Arch-Mage said it was impossible. Nobody could create the waters of life from nothing, for such a feat was akin to creating oxygen to breathe. There was one ambitious theory that water could be transmuted from another element, like how one could turn iron into gold, but no one has ever come close to finding out. It's one of my many projects."

"That still doesn't really answer my question. To what end are you learning this for?"

"To be closer to Ama, of course. Magic wasn't just a tool to her. It was an art. To me, it is a dance." Graven held his palm up, where a small puddle of water rested between the creases of his skin. "It doesn't always have to be used for practical purposes. Haven't you ever studied something just for the love of learning and expanding your mind, and your abilities? I may not have a direction to take my own theories to, but maybe someday my experiments may yield something fruitful for another student who will take direction with my techniques."

"So you're a pioneer, of sorts..." Serana looked at the bucket, and she held her hand over the water. To create or manipulate any element was to take it's essence into her being and understand it down to the core, which was why she would never be able to understand what she loathed, like fire. She didn't know where to begin understanding water, other than that it flowed and it was pliable, able to take on various forms whether it be ice or vapor. Armed with basic ideas, she could do nothing to the water, and she fell on her rear with a frown. "How do you have all the answers? You always sound like you have it all figured out."

"Hardly." Graven pushed the bucket aside and scooted closer to her, reaching to take her hand in his. He turned her palm up and traced the creases of it. "I don't search for answers. They come to me when they're meant to, and I don't think I have it all figured out. This is just my perception of what's around me, or what I've already learned, but there is still so much out there I wish to understand." He peered up at her. "For instance: you. I still want to court you. I know you're just as intrigued and curious as I am to find out what it is that tethers us together."

She looked down at the bucket. "You don't know what's waiting for you if you try."

"I don't know what waits for me when I experiment either, evidently." He gestured to his frozen clothes and dipped lower to meet her eyes. "That's part of the journey. That's what I'm in for: the adventure, not the prize, even with all the obstacles and hardships. I don't make a habit of running away from fear. I run towards it." He thankfully gave space and withdrew, rising and stretching his arms above his head with a yawn. "I'll clean this mess up later, after I catch up on rest."

Serana tried to look anywhere but at his loincloth, wondering if he was truly that oblivious to how inappropriate his current state was. He didn't seem to have a speck of shame in the world. He tapped the doorframe on his way out. "Feel free to experiment if you'd like. I'm going to find the cleanest cabin left to sleep now. Please think about what I've said, that's all I ask. Good night, Sera."

"Sweet dreams, Graven," she mumbled without thought. She was left with more questions than answers as always with him, and she forced herself to head back up to the helm so that she could at least do something while she was at the mercy of her conflicting thoughts.

_"Why can't things be simple? Why can't he let this go?" _Serana yanked the club out the steering wheel and stared at it, frowning. _"Why can't I let go? What am I afraid of?"_

Was it fear, or was it doubt? She didn't feel like she deserved something wonderful, even if it was a friendship. Maybe it just wasn't for vampires. Her family used to be loving and intelligent and influential in positive ways, but that was all torn apart the moment father had been swept under the promise of power, and went so far as to sacrifice a thousand of innocent freeholders in his region in order to gain favor and attention from Molag Bal. That kind of repulsive tribute had to have stained and cursed every family member. Blood was the legacy and the greatest achievement of the Volkihars.

Thoughts spiraled into a deep and dark hole while she sailed. When she snapped out of it, she saw the castle in the furthest corner and poked her hand. Her finger didn't go through. What was a horror and should have been a dream was real. Her heart leaped to her throat and screamed at her to turn the wheel away, but she was stuck. She looked at the hatch.

_"Promise me you'll wake me up when we get there?"_

_"Why wouldn't I?"_

Serana nibbled on her lip. She stuck the club back in the wheel and quietly snuck to the lower decks, making sure Graven was asleep before she left to collect and change into her clothes. A spicy aroma wafted from them and she held her red shirt to her nose, her heart plummeting to her stomach when she took a deep breath.

_"Why can't I let go?"  
_

It was a question she was even afraid to answer. She freed herself of her oversized rags and changed into her clothes, running a hand down fabric that was carefully licked by flame. Nothing was seared off. She ached and was overcome with exhaustion over such a simple fact, and she had to force herself to return to the decks above. She watched the castle as it gradually grew larger, closer. Serana dropped the anchor to stop the ship and buy herself time.

_"I can let go. I can."_

It became a mental chant. She had to push herself. She couldn't push his voice out of her mind though.

_"You're like a diamond. You need a little pressure. And heat."_

Every part of her screamed to go down to him. She grabbed the ropes that anchored to the sails and stood up on the ship railing instead, looking down at the water. She looked at the coarse rope scratching her hand. _"I can let go. I can let go of the rope. Of him. I can swim."_

"I can't tell... are you running away from your fear, or towards it? It seems you've found yourself in a paradox."

The sudden voice almost made her fall, and her head whipped over her shoulder. Her eyes widened in panic when they met Graven's. He smiled sadly, hands stuffed in oversized trousers that she was sure was to help hold them up. He slowly approached and stood by her side, but stayed on the deck. She was at a loss for words.

"I thought..." Serana winced at how hoarse she sounded. She cleared her throat to try and maintain some semblance of dignity. "I thought you were asleep?"

"I'm a light sleeper. I was awake the moment you opened the hatch to come down." Graven stared at the castle. After a good length's time of tense silence, he sighed and left her side. Something about his tempered tone made her feel guilty, especially when he landed the killing blow with indifference that was far more unbecoming of him than his thoughtfulness.

"Don't forget to take your scroll with you."

"Aren't you going to stop me?" Serana blurted.

Graven stopped and shrugged in defeat. "I already tried. If I couldn't prevent this, then I can't stop this. Some things I can control. I never intended to with you."

And he disappeared to the lower level.

Serana groaned. _"Still not one of my favorite habits of yours, Graven." _She carefully sat down on the railing and buried her head in her hands.

_"I can't let go..."_

* * *

Author's Note

The slow ship arc is just about done and things are going to stir up in the next chapter. I'm finally at the part I've been looking forward to write the most! I hope to see you all there and that you enjoy it! With more experiments, of course :P


	15. Chapter 15

_"Now that I think about it, he doesn't seem at all surprised about the castle. Maybe he doesn't think it's my home? Or he's very good at composing himself." _Serana folded her arms in her lap, her heels kicking against the ship. The water was tranquil and pushed ever gently, but the anchor put a stop to that. The creaks and groans of the boat were music to the ears and she closed her eyes, imagining herself on a trading vessel with the sun in her face and seagulls in the air.

_"What I'd give to have those days again..."_

Life was so much simpler. According to Graven's views, it still was, but she found it impossible to simplify every single complexity surrounding her life. The more she reflected on his words, the less understanding and the more upset she became. Memories were uprooted. He operated on little more than guesswork, and it belittled the pain that gnawed an empty hole inside of her. How would he feel if he suffered the way she had, and was told he was enjoying the company of his demons? He wouldn't like it. Maybe that was the advice he was trying to impart with freeing herself.

_"I can't run away, it'll catch up to me anyways. So to let go... I have to run towards it. Run towards fear. Maybe he might have been onto something." _She climbed back on the deck and went to fetch the anchor. It wasn't long after she started that she heard the hatch open. She didn't look nor say anything, and her cheeks ached from how hard she tried not to smile when his bare feet padded over on the deck. The ends of the rope behind her became lighter, and she felt a pull with her.

"Towards, or away?" Graven murmured.

"Towards. You with me?"

"Of course." There was a clever smile in that tone, and it made her roll her eyes. She stopped fighting her smile and shot it over her shoulder.

"You have no idea what you're getting yourself into."

"I'm potentially in the presence of a royal queen and I've thought of plenty of scenarios."

"Queen?" Serana chuckled, shaking her head. She renewed her efforts to pull the anchor. "Not at all. You're the first to react so calmly to the castle, though. Most people who see it for the first time tend to be in shock for a little bit."

"You told me about it a while ago, remember?"

They pulled up the anchor, and Serana wiped her hands on her pants when she turned around. She bit her lip to stop the burst of laughter when Graven hastily squatted to pick his trousers off the floor. "I appreciate the help at the expense of your dignity," she teased. "Now what do you mean I told you? I don't remember this at all."

"When you told me how you miss sailing after you saw how I wasn't enjoying myself. I'm still not enjoying it, by the way. Not this part anyways. We're hiring a crew next time we dock at a city." Graven wound his coat tighter around him and jumped in his spot for warmth. "You said you didn't have anyone on the outside you could trust. Outside the castle."

"Oh..."

"But you're right, I admit I am in awe." He leaned on the ship railing and stared at the castle in the distance. "When you said the castle, I thought that was just the name of your home, or something. I didn't think the villa would be an actual castle." He peered over at her. "So you're for sure not a royal queen?"

"Disappointed?" Serana smirked, joining him to bump shoulders. "No queen at all. My parents... They're separated, to put it kindly. My mother ran away." She stole a glimpse as she took a chance, a nervous knot building in her stomach when she finished. "With an elder scroll."

Graven's gaze snapped to her. "So she has one, and you have one? Why are you both in possession of an elder scroll? Were there dragons in your time?"

_"Dragons? What does that have to do with elder scrolls? Runayr said something about him handling one, didn't she?" _Serana shook her head. "No, not at all. The scrolls... Well, it started with my father. He heard of a prophecy that, long story short, would blot out the sun and bring eternal darkness."

"A captivating prospect for a vampire," he hummed. He looked at the castle. "Is that why you both ran away, then? To keep the scrolls away from him?"

"Yeah..." Serana sighed and rested her chin on her palm. "It was mother's plan. I never had a say in it."

"If you did, what would you have said or done?"

"Ask my daughter her feelings on the whole matter, to start," she mumbled bitterly. "They both became obsessed with their duel with each other. It was toxic. After we... turned... father became obsessed with power at all costs, even at the expense of family. She became obsessed with seeing him fail, also at the expense of family."

"You were caught in the middle."

"I was. I was just a chess piece to them both, a tool to be used to hurt the other."

Serana dug her toe into the deck, kicking at it without thought. The knotted ball in her stomach climbed to her chest when the silence stretched between them. Tension grew and she grew antsy with it, especially with how the castle became larger and larger. She kicked a little harder in a rhythm meant to keep her mind off the past, but nearly every moment of her life revolved around her parents. How was she supposed to move forward with the future when all she knew was life in that castle? It was her comfort zone. Tension soared exponentially when Graven turned towards her, elbow on the railing. The faintest traces of his warm breath brushed her cheek. He stared, and she tried not to ask what he was thinking or staring at her for.

"I challenge you to a duel," he finally said.

Serana looked at him, surprised and confused. _"Where in the world is he taking this now?" _She thought about her answer, whether to confront him about his intentions, or to play along. The inner child won over and she smirked. "Very well. With what weapon?"

"Compliments." Graven sounded so serious and resolute, that it challenged her not to laugh.

Her cheeks ached, not because of fighting not to smile, but because of how wide it grew when she parried back. "A capital choice."

"Thank you, I- oh!" He grinned radiantly. "I see you've dueled before!"

It cut the tension down when they chuckled, and that **thing** rattled inside of her when his shoulder brushed against hers, gradually pressing harder. She glanced over and caught how his arm rose up to her shoulders, then fell, and he drummed a little tune on the railing. She looked off at the castle with her aching smile.

_"It's good to know I'm not the only nervous one, and that he isn't always confident. Or maybe he never was, and it's been a front all this time just to impress me."_

Silence fell again, but the tension was no longer there. She folded her arms on the railing and rested her chin on them. "I know you tend to run positive and optimistic, but... things aren't going to be okay in there, Graven. My father isn't good, even by vampire standards. To be honest, I don't know what he'll do to you. He's just as likely to kill you as reward you for my return."

He assumed the same position as her, their elbows touching. He always sought contact with her. _"Unnerving... but endearing at the same time."_

"Being positive doesn't necessarily mean knowing that things will turn out okay," he murmured. "Rather, it's knowing that you will be okay no matter how things turn out."

Serana laid her head down and looked at him. "How can you be so casual about this? There is a chance you'll be killed in there, Graven."

"That chance is equal to a dragon swooping down on us any moment, burn our sails, if not us, and leave us stranded. I choose to believe in the possibility we'll be okay, and I'm confident that I'll find a way out if I believe my or your life is threatened. Confidence, wit and positivity make a powerful team, and the best part is: they don't necessarily have to be full to work together."

Serana sighed. She didn't know what to say to him. That he was so headstrong was both a pro and a con, and she knew she had no chance of convincing him not to follow her into the castle. She pushed off the railing and was confused when he scrambled to do the same, until he squatted to pick up his trousers, and she laughed. "I'm glad one of us has confidence, because I really don't know how you're going to survive in there." She rolled her eyes when he grinned at her, and she returned to the wheel to safely guide the ship to the docks. "I'll need you to take down the sails one by one when I tell you to, to slow us down."

"Do I have time to change back into my clothes? I'm not loving the idea of freezing to death with my trousers at my knees."

"I don't blame you, I don't either," she chuckled. "Go quickly, you've got five-"

And he sprinted off, holding his trousers up.

Serana shook her head and manned the helm. She focused on steering more than the dread that pooled in her stomach. Her heart plummeted when they made around the bend of the island, and saw how the old docks were in disarray. When Graven returned, she instructed him when to take down the sails, and with no wind to push the ship, it drifted towards it's destination. She narrowed her eyes when she spotted skeletons come to the edge of the stone docks.

"Graven!"

His head snapped over at her, and then he ran to the edge when she held out one hand, summoning her magic. He rolled up his sleeve and vivid orange lines lit up on his tattoos. He waited until the skeletons clustered together, then drew the pattern of a fire rune with his rune-arm set ablaze. It was both repulsive and magnificent to watch, but shivers consumed her at the sight of flames. In seconds, bones flew and hit at the ship when the skeletons exploded, devoured by a brief pillar of fire. Graven turned to her with a proud smile and flexed his arm, kissing his tattoos. She sighed with a chuckle and renewed her focus in guiding the ship in.

"Drop the anchor now, or we're going to crash!" Serana injected as much terror in her voice as she could, without falling apart laughing. He still had a bit of time, but she wanted it to sound urgent just to watch him scramble across the deck, nearly slipping and landing on all fours. _"Making him panic will never get old."_

In all fairness, he needed to work up a sweat for how calm and collected he usually was. She was more than happy to be the fire under his rear. It was for his physical well-being and mental resilience, of course. She had to hide her mouth and bite her hand when he collapsed on the deck with his limbs sprawled out.

"I did it!" His voice cracked hoarsely as if he was going through puberty. He surprisingly scraped together enough strength and energy to lift his arm and make a thumbs up.

The ship groaned and turned from the sudden drop of the anchor, but the narrow entrance of the stone docks didn't do much even when the tip knocked against the wall. She locked the wheel and capered over to Graven, leaning over him as he huffed and gulped for air.

"I could freeze you if you need to cool down faster," she teased.

"Not until I master the art of setting fire inside the ice block." Graven grinned tiredly. He held out his hands. "Help me up?"

Serana chuckled and did, following his gaze when he took a moment to soak in the sights of the majestic castle. A little defensive bubble crawled up her chest to her throat, even though he hadn't seemed to make any judgmental looks, but his stoic expression masked much of what he **might** have been thinking in silence. She couldn't help but blurt out her defense. "Just so you know, I'm not like one of those women who just sit around their castle all day."

"Hm?" He looked at her. "I would've never thought that of you. In fact I wouldn't have ever guessed you're royalty until you mentioned the castle. You don't carry yourself like Jarls or Thanes." He head to the edge of the ship and peered over the railing. "Not a big distance. Let's set a board down to cross over safely."

Graven went on ahead and though he struggled even with the board, it wasn't out of amusement that Serana hadn't helped. She was stuck staring at the castle, and the cringe-worthy scraping of the board against the deck was the only thing that grounded her in the face of her fear. She should have been the one to take the lead, being the one who knew this island and all it's quirks, but she was stuck in a trance and felt strange. Memories flooded in and it was like she was a little girl again. There was an overwhelming sense of loneliness that pervaded her innermost thoughts.

"Sera?" Graven's voice broke her from her muse, and he balanced on the middle of the board. He stretched out his hand to her. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Just... yeah. Sorry, I was lost in thought." She went to the board and carefully made her way down to the middle. It felt even stranger to take his hand than the feelings that swam inside of her. His skin was hot to the touch, as she expected, and his palms were mildly scraped from all the ropes and wood. The roughness of them grounded her just like the sounds of the board a minute ago. He grounded her. She just had to focus on him.

"Where do we go? Are these docks the entrance? Do vampires typically employ skeletons as the doorman greeter?"

"No," she laughed quietly. "We head straight from here and go around the bend of the beach, there will be a bridge there. That's where we enter."

"Fancy," Graven hummed.

He didn't let go of her hand even after they climbed off the board. There were nervous and unsure looks, but she pretended she didn't see them. He was still grounding her even now, where she fretted more about just holding his hand than what was going to happen inside the castle. She stared at their hands, and the backs of his legs. She smiled when she spotted some residue of goop stuck on his pants.

_"What a fine first impression that will be for father and the court. I can't wait to see the faces they're going to make when they see it."_

She could wait, truthfully, but there was no avoiding this.

Graven stopped and turned abruptly. "Wait, what about the scroll?"

Serana looked back at the ship. "Oh... I forgot." The words sounded numb to her ears. She contemplated on what to do, turning to him. "Let's leave it in the ship for now. It'll be a useful bargaining chip if father attempts to kill you, and he won't if I threaten not to give him the scroll."

"Give him the scroll? I thought the whole point was to keep it away from him."

"He'll need mother's scroll, and he'll need a way to read them. I need to see what he's up to and gain his trust if I'm to find out his plans, and the only way he'll do that is if he believes I'm on his side. If he has the other scroll and a method to unlock them, then..."

"Would he need the scroll I had as well, you think? The dragon scroll?"

"No way of knowing for sure, but it wouldn't be a bad idea to use that as another bargaining chip for yourself, or pretend to offer it to him. Then he'll see a use to keep you alive."

"A sound plan." Graven squeezed her hand, drawing their attentions down to where they were joined.

_"I'm not nervous,"_ she lied to convince herself that she was completely calm and casual about this, like him. This wasn't a big deal. It was just hands. He had kissed her neck and shoulder and that was far more intimate than this. She even managed to squeeze his hand back and saw what was going on in his eyes. He was trying to convince himself the same thing, or so she liked to believe. If he could be brave, so could she. "Let's go. This way."

Serana took the lead, but gently pulled away from him when the bridge came into sight. He didn't seem to react at all to it, neither disappointed or relieved. He was still hard to read, but she must have made it just as hard for him. He would get nothing from now on. Not even from reflections.

"Follow my lead when we're inside," she murmured when they made it halfway across the bridge. "I'll handle the talking."

"And if I'm addressed to?"

She chewed the inside of her lip. "Keep your wits about you and be yourself so long as it doesn't antagonize or disrespect the Lord of the court."

"Right. No pressure." Graven chuckled nervously.

They stiffened when they reached the doorman at the gate, who came up to the bars to scrutinize her. His expression was unreadable, until his gaze fell on the brooch of Molag Bal on her cape. She wanted to rip it off and throw it into the sea. The doorman's leathery voice boomed in his announcement, making them jump.

"Lady Serana's back! Open the gate!"

"Lady Serana?" Graven whispered, a small smile aimed at her. "Knew I was right to call you Sera. Maybe I should call you Sera-Sera now."

Serana waited until the doorman turned around before she kicked Graven's calf. He grimaced and swallowed his chuckles. It was just that tiny bit to help ground her again and keep dismantling the tension whenever it grew. They entered the castle, and she was hit with strong smells of blood and meat. It coated her tongue and she did her best to keep herself in check before her mind turned the man beside her into a prey.

"How dare you trespass here!" Came the arrogant and aristocratic shrill she was not looking forward to hearing ever again.

_"Vingalmo. I see the world has failed to be rid of you." _It took willpower not to roll her eyes. When she opened her mouth to clarify who he was speaking disrespectfully to, his eyes widened in recognition at her, but when they slipped to Graven, they narrowed and he almost sneered with disgust. She cleared her throat to regain his attention. "Vingalmo, a pleasure to see you again."

"Serana... is that truly you?" He whipped around when she nodded and strode to the court, his arms spread in a theatrical display. "My Lord, everyone! Serana has returned!"

"**Lady** Serana, disrespectful n'wah," Graven grumbled his correction under his breath. She elbowed him and did her best not to smile.

A flurry of murmurs buzzed from the court when they entered. "I guess I'm expected," she whispered. "I didn't expect this kind of reception over my return."

All eyes fell on them, and her nails dug into the staircase railing when her gaze met her father's. His buttery voice made goosebumps break out and she shuddered.

"Ah, my long lost daughter, I trust you have my elder scroll?"

Serana tasted vomit in her mouth and she snapped impatiently. "After all these years, that's the first thing you ask me? Yes I have the scroll. I'm keeping it in a safe place."

Harkon laughed. It only flared contempt and resentment than any longing to embrace the man she once lovingly revered as father. "Of course I'm delighted to see you, my dear. Must I really say the words aloud?" The rest of his words were tuned out when she grew bored of his display. He pranced about just as theatrically, an act put on for the court. Except instead of playing the role of the Lord, he would be better suited in a Jester's costume, like the rest of the members of this court. She was equally displeased to see that Orthjolf was also still around. She was willing to bet all her wealth that his feud with Vingalmo and their slow dance for the throne was still alive and well.

Serana turned her head enough to glimpse if Graven was behind her, and he was. He wore his usual stoic face, and his body language screamed comfort instead of the discomfort that burned in his eyes. He was just as good at acting and minding where his gaze went. It must have been no small thing to do with dismembered bodies on dining tables and blood dripping off to collect into bowls. She stiffened when her father uttered something damning.

"Now, tell me, who is this stranger you have brought into our hall?"

_"He sounds amused. Let's hope he stays that way." _Serana cleared her throat and stepped aside for her father to get a good look at Graven. "This is my savior Graven, the one who freed me. He's responsible for bringing me home safely as well, and did so all by himself. He was also able to procure a ship and help me sail."

Harkon cupped his chin and scrutinized the young man, a slippery smile forming on his face as he came up to Graven. "Competent and resourceful. I like that." A dangerous glint passed by father's eyes. "As Lord of the court and for my daughter's safe return, you're due a reward." He stepped back and put on another show for the court, raising his voice to fill the throne room. "I offer you my blood. Take this gift and you will walk like a lion among sheep."

Hushed murmurs and gasps broke out. Serana nervously looked over at Graven, who did well not to expose his reaction. It would mean little in a minute. Father had him **trapped.** To decline was to offend the Lord and be grounds to be executed, and she knew there was no way Graven would accept.

He didn't. But not on father's terms.

"Respectfully, I must decline, my Lord. If I am due a reward, then I believe it should be Lady Serana who pays the price and offer her blood to me."

Serana froze. The court buzzed, and her father's laugh fell on deaf ears as her gaze whipped to Graven. She wanted to scream and ask what he was thinking, especially when he had the audacity to turn to her, take her hand in his, and kneel before her.

"What say you, Lady Serana? Would I be so blessed as to receive your gift?"

_"What is he thinking?" _She didn't know what to say. She couldn't accept. _"What is he thinking?" _She stared, speechless, but her mind raced with hundreds of thoughts. _"What in Oblivion is this fool thinking?! He was supposed to keep his wits about him to **not die,** and now he is purposefully throwing himself on death's door!"_

"Serana, it's rude to keep him waiting," Harkon drawled with disgustingly obvious amusement. There was nothing amusing about this.

"Not here, let us retire to my room," she forced through clenched teeth. She couldn't get a read on Graven at all. What if this was his motive all along? The words that came out of her mouth almost felt as if this were all part of just an elaborate nightmare. She poked her palm when she whispered the rest. "And then I'll bestow the gift upon you."

Her finger didn't go through.


	16. Chapter 16

Serana rolled into her room like a tornado, stripping her cloak and leather mail. She abandoned them aside on the floor as she head towards the bed.

Graven was going to be a taught a lesson he wasn't going to forget any time soon.

"Ser-"

"Strip." She whirled around, doing her best to at least appear calm even when she was fuming inside. She crossed her arms and waited on him, while he stood gaping like a fool. _"A fool he most certainly is." _She gestured to the bed. "What are you waiting for?"

"Just to be clear so that we're on the same page... you're turning me, right?"

"I'll turn you to the hounds if you don't do as I say," she snapped. She stomped over behind him and pushed him to the bed, frustrated when he curtailed his confusion and shock behind that damn facade of stoicism and serenity. She hovered above him and bared her fangs with an exaggerated hiss meant to instill fear in him and instigate doubts over his foolish decision.

He didn't react.

Graven reached up and cupped her cheek with a warm smile instead. "It'll be okay, Serana."

"This isn't the time for you to be all happy-go-lucky, it won't be okay! What were you thinking? I can't turn you!"

"It's going to be okay," he continued to insist. He reached with his other hand and slid behind her neck, pulling with such tenderness in increments until her frustration gave in. She curled in on herself to hide her face, the top of her head digging into his chest. She clawed at his coat and all she wanted to do was to pierce it with her nails until it sunk into his ribs, to get this anger out of her system. The pressure grew against her head when he crunched up for his arms to reach around her shoulders, and she fell apart.

"I can't turn you," she urged. "Please don't make me turn you."

"I would rather you than any other vampire in the world. Especially your father."

Serana's head shot up, and she had to back away a little when their faces were too close for comfort. "You don't have to be turned!"

"I said I was with you. I'm not leaving you alone here, especially to face your demons by yourself."

_"What is wrong with him? I've done nothing to deserve this! He's just a fool blinded by his fairy tale notion of love, or whatever in Oblivion he's feeling!" _Serana pushed him down by his chest and pinned him there as she straddled his hips, trying to buy herself time to think of what was an **actual** solution here. Her head lulled back and she closed her eyes, sucking in a deep breath. It shivered out of her in a hoarse whisper. "We're not doing this, Graven. Do you even know what it means to be turned?"

"Apparently I must be stark naked and on the bed. I must admit, I don't quite object to the idea."

Serana laughed mirthlessly and rolled her eyes. She looked down at him with somberness that killed his playful little smile. "That was meant to get you to feel uncomfortable and vulnerable, wondering if you're going to be violated. That's what it's going to feel like when I turn you. And then you're going to experience _death _as if you were to drown, helpless to stop it, seeing your life flash before your eyes. It's not like going to a picnic, Graven. It's going to be terrifying."

"Then who better to endure it with me than you?" He reached up and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. His thumb swept under her eye. "I must admit, I still don't quite object to the idea of being vulnerable and violated by you."

"Stop it," she chuckled. "This isn't a joke."

"It's got you laughing and smiling."

"Doesn't mean it's funny. It's horrible." She didn't reject his touch, but her eyes fell to his chest. She undid the clasp of his cloak and slowly opened his shirt when she pulled out the laces of his collar. His tattoos hummed with energy when she spread her palm out on them. "Do you know how and why vampirism exists?"

"I've had considerable exposure and was able to intimately study all the Daedric Lords in my tenure at the college."

_"What a roundabout answer. A yes would have sufficed." _Something else captivated her interest though. Tenure. And he mentioned something about students taking direction with his techniques. She continued to explore his tattoos and her hand disappeared under his shirt, tracing wherever the line of energy guided her fingertip. "You were a professor?"

"For a short time. My theories piqued the interest of one of the scholars and I apprenticed under Drevis Neloren, who is head of the program for lectures regarding history on magical artifacts and the school of Illusion." He reached under his shirt and grabbed her hand, pressing it harder against his chest. The energy buzzed louder. "I know how and why it exists, Serana. And I've speculated the nature of your connection to vampirism. You're not just unlike the ones who run feral, contracting theirs through infection of the body. Yours was contracted through infection of the soul."

Serana almost choked. Shame filled her and she couldn't meet his eyes, but he forced her to when he cupped her jaw and guided her to lift her head.

"Do you know why I'm not afraid to be turned, Serana? Because you didn't let it infect your heart. You still have a pure heart, remember?"

She smiled small, riddled with sadness. "By your definition."

"You're proving that definition even now. You consider it as hurting me - killing me, by turning me. But you're the reason I'm not afraid, because I have proof before my eyes that what vampirism cannot do is change the heart, no matter how much pain and suffering is inflicted. I hold fast to my faith that I will be okay no matter how things turn out. I know that I will still be me, who I fundamentally am, regardless of how I appear or what I hunger for. I know that because you inspired that faith. I fear not the darkness. Sometimes you have to embrace it to stop it, and sometimes you have to know it to appreciate that light."

"Stop," she whispered frailly. She couldn't listen to this. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why can't you walk away? Let go? I'll help you get back on the ship and-"

"I'm not leaving you in the place where demons live." He poked her forehead. "I'm coming into that place..." A playful smile danced on his lips. "So you can enjoy my company instead." Graven gently pushed her off his hips and climbed off the bed. He collected her cape and her leather mail to hang them over a chair at the desk she used to read her books at. He removed his coat and pulled his shirt off overhead to join her belongings, exposing himself as he stripped down to his loincloth.

"What are you doing?" Serana asked, warmth prodding the inside of her cheeks.

"I'm doing as you say so I won't be turned to the hounds," he quipped jovially, and he thumbed at the string of his loincloth. "Should I take this off too?"

"N-no, that isn't necessary." She pushed off the bed and took a few steps back when he came and laid down. Her breath kicked against her chest when he closed his eyes.

"I'm ready, Serana."

It felt like time froze. The only reason she knew it was still flowing was because his chest rose and fell as he breathed. It was her reminder to do the same for herself, a reminder that she kept holding her breath. She approached the bed at the pace of a snail, hesitant and anxious. She had never turned anyone before.

_"Mother said it's intimate. How intimate? Would it feel as though we're having..." _Serana couldn't finish the thought. The air felt stuffy and hot as if she was bathing in a hot spring's steam. She rested her knee on the edge of the bed and climbed up to kneel beside him. His limbs were sprawled, palms facing up. Something rattled inside of her and she reached to touch the scar of two pinpricks in his palm. His chest kicked in a sudden inhale and goosebumps broke out over his skin, and she took her hand away from him. He caught it instead.

"Keep holding it, please. Even after I die."

Were she not truly listening, she would have missed the subdued tremble in his tranquil voice. _"He is afraid. Why is he trying to pretend he's not? It's natural to be. I was too." _She squeezed his hand to answer him and hovered lower. Her fangs elongated when she neared his neck, closing her eyes.

"Do you want to drink from me before you turn me?" Graven whispered.

Serana swallowed nervously and squeezed his hand again. What that was supposed to mean was left up to his interpretation. She couldn't find her voice anymore. She opened her eyes to steal a glimpse of him, and a strange sensation washed over her when his remained closed.

_"He trusts me. He... **trusts** me. He's giving me his life."_

Her fangs slipped back behind her lips. She suddenly straddled his waist and caged his head in between her elbows, and his eyes flew open too late to brace himself for her when she claimed his mouth. She hastily shut her eyes for she was embarrassed, or maybe she just didn't want to see the rejection coming. She smiled when his teeth bumped against her in his shy attempt to kiss her back. Another strange sensation washed over her, and fueled her, when hot coarse hands snuck under her tunic to run up her sides. Her tunic kept rolling up and up and up as his hands slid higher, and she broke the kiss to pull her shirt off overhead, tossing it to the side without care.

"Sera-"

She didn't let him finish and slammed her lips over his again. She was overcome with that damn thing that ran hot in her chest and she swore she was going to explode if she didn't find a way to get it out of her. It boiled hotter when he remained so passive and innocent with his hands, and she broke the kiss to try and instigate the same fire inside of him when she scraped her fangs against his throat. He groaned and clutched her waist hard enough to **know** there were going to be bruises later.

"Serana-"

"Let me have this, don't stop it."

"No no no, I am definitely not going to try stopping this." He grabbed her shoulders and pushed with all his might to put some distance between them, face to face. He grinned meekly. "I just wanted to remind you that I have no experience with women. Maybe you should turn me first before I disappoint you so much that you'll turn me to those hounds?"

Serana laughed. She shook her head and leaned back to sit on his hips. "You're not the only one without experience."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the one that's bumping teeth like we're going to war, not you."

"That's because I'm trying not to lacerate your lip with my fangs," she shot back playfully.

"So if you turn me, then I'll stop bumping teeth because I'll be trying the same."

"Are you planning to annoy me with this just to get it over with?"

"Uh... well, yeah. Is it working? I'd like to be more invested in kissing you rather than being terrified as to when it's going to happen. Please?"

Serana sucked in a sharp breath. She nibbled the corner of her lip and sighed with resignation. "Alright." She rested her hands on his chest, predominantly where the tattoos were to feel that constant energy buzzing at her fingertips. She didn't hide her fangs from him and let them elongate again, keeping her eyes on him the entire time she lowered to his neck until they could no longer maintain their gaze from the angle. She gently nudged his jaw to the side with her nose to expose his throat more.

"My hand," he murmured. She nodded and blindly reached down, searching for it, and squeezed his hand when she lined her fangs up to the artery that pounded faster.

"Ready, Graven?"

"Ready." The bob of his throat went up and down in a thick swallow. He held her hand bruisingly tight when the tips of her fangs touched skin.

Serana shut her eyes as tightly as possible and tried not to groan with pleasure over the taste of his blood flooding her mouth. Guilt wracked her when he let out a strangled gasp, and he did his best to suppress his sounds of pain as she drank, and drank, and drank, and drank, gorging herself and gouging him of his blood. His grip slackened bit by bit, and her heart cried out when she smelled salt and felt moisture steadily collect at the top of her lip, a tiny stream coming to wash the blood that trickled out and away from her. She hated not being able to stop and talk to him, say comforting words, say **something.**

_"It's better if I just get this over with as quickly as possible or his suffering will only be prolonged if I keep stopping and going."_

He let go of her hand, weakly grabbing her hips. It wasn't when they slipped away that broke her apart, but his whisper when he slipped away.

"I'm sorry, Serana."

When there was no blood left to be drawn, she subjugated the essence of her magic into him. If only he were alive to feel this, to know what she was doing, he'd probably be positively thrilled and work to figure out the mechanics of the medley of energies pouring into his body to create necrotic arteries and the sustenance to sustain them, even if they're dark energies.

The smell of salt never left. When she pulled away from him and wiped her lips with her hand, she collected blood and tears. She hated this. Hated what she did, what she was. She should have never brought him here. She should have never come home. Father would have never found them, especially if they spent their days on the ship. Was he even the one who had sent vampires to free her from the crypt? He was indifferent over her return and asked for the scroll instead of her wellbeing. He didn't care about her at all, or prided her over the duty she felt she had to keep. Nothing.

Now she took Graven's life. She's condemned him to a life out on the run, in hiding, in darkness, alone with his demons in his head. She killed the Dragonborn and gave a powerful being an even more terrifyingly powerful gift: immortality. He may not have been corrupted by his power now, but he had all the time in the universe to be twisted. His philosophy wasn't foolproof. It was just a philosophy, a perspective, and perspectives could bleed and they could die.

_"I need out. I need fresh air." _She scrambled off the bed and collected her tunic. She didn't care if she was putting it on backwards, as long as it was on, and she rushed for the balcony before she suffocated in her guilt and doubts. He was gone for just a minute and she was already drowning in her demons.

As soon as she plowed open the creaky door and was outside, she allowed herself to fall apart, to feel every emotion as it came and went. Her eyes burned and the tears flowed freely. She couldn't get rid of the image from her mind of the dried tear streaks on Graven's face. They came, and they went, slowing down as his body shut down, dying with him. Her head fell and she braced it against the frigid railing, burying herself as her arms flopped over, fingers tugging on hair. She didn't know how long he was going to be gone but it already felt like an eternity. She never realized how much she'd miss him until now, and she wanted it to be over. She didn't want to be alone.

What would she have done if he had left, unscathed and unturned? She didn't want to think about it. There was a pervasive loneliness in the court that she would never be able to shake out, and she knew now that coming here was one of her worst mistakes in her life. Bring the scroll to father, to see what he was going to do with it?

_"Stupid. Absolutely stupid. I should have known better. I **had** known better... but hope. I'm always hoping he'll just wake up and change, be who he used to be. I should have known that taking away what he wanted most was only going to drive him mad and want it even more."_

"Serana."

Her head whipped up in a fury and she looked over, stunned. Graven was already up and had followed her, his hand on the door. It never creaked shut. He must have been up and following her the moment she left for the balcony. Was recovering that fast normal? She couldn't remember how long she was out.

_"I don't remember asking. Or caring."_

He approached her and she stepped back, holding her arms out to keep him at a distance. She knew what he was going to do and she was undeserving of it.

"Grave-"

He embraced her.

Grave. A coffin, someone pounding on the lid. Her dream was trying to tell her something. She ignored it. _"Stupid, stupid, stupid."_

"Let's head inside," he whispered. When he tried to move, she resisted. He persisted. Eventually she caved in, but she didn't want to raise her head. It was **embarrassing** to be caught in this state when she was supposed to be the definition of calm and graceful and kept together. She fell apart when she felt cold breaths seep into her scalp as pressure grew against the top of her head. His words were muffled, the movement of his lips felt through hair. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you to do that... but if it's any consolation, I'm glad it was you who turned me, and that it was you who stayed with me."

"I ran away," she croaked miserably. "I didn't stay."

"I don't remember this." His playful tone, however quiet and gentle, was enough to earn a little punch to the side and he laughed. His arms fell and he withdrew from the hug, or tried to, and she held on to him so he wouldn't see her. "I do, however, remember something that's far more critically important..." He pulled away and she hated how she had to fight a little more now that he had a bit more strength himself. Hopefully this was the extent of it and he wouldn't grow even stronger once vampirism truly settled in. He was able to pry away enough to frame her jaw and she was exposed, knowing she likely looked like a mess. She stopped caring when he claimed her lips.

And chuckled when their fangs bumped together.

* * *

Author's Note

The beauty of writing from Serana's perspective is that we only see what Graven portrays rather than what he's thinking, and that's all I'm saying ;)

Thank you very much to both reviewers and those who are following/favoriting the story! I thought I was going to get to my favorite parts but once again my ideas have come out much longer typed out. Next chapter should be the part I've been waiting to write, and I can't wait anymore! Hope to see you all there!


	17. Chapter 17

"Let's head inside," Graven whispered again, but each word was interrupted with a kiss in between.

Serana nodded. They tried to walk as they kissed, chuckling when they kept bumping into the corners and the door. Inside, things were knocked over and crashed, where some shattered, but the sounds didn't reach their own little world. The way Graven panted against her mouth, starved of oxygen, made her cheeks hurt when she put more effort not to smile widely so that she could keep kissing him. She wound her arms around his shoulders and threw her weight against him to wedge him against her desk.

_"He's still innocent with his hands,"_ Serana thought. _"It's a little irritating, actually. Not something I can... find the courage to say out loud."_

Graven was still clothed in nothing but his loin cloth, and she wanted to instigate something in him. His legs were pushed apart when she fit between his thighs, and her heart hammered with blood buzzing in her ears over how bold she was. She wanted more and she wasn't shy to coax it out of him.

She faltered when he broke the kiss.

"Sera," he rasped. His head fell on her shoulder, and his fingers dug into her hips. She felt more awkward stuck in this embrace with him than kissing him.

"Is something wrong, Graven?"

"N-no, everything's right. But..." Graven fell to a low and shy mumble. "Well, you already know I have no experience with women. I have no clue what to do. I'm afraid I'll disappoint."

_"Is that why he's so passive?" _It was an easy remedy, or at least so she thought. She leaned back and cradled his jaw to encourage him to look up at her. "Good. I don't want you to have experience with women, Graven. I want you to have experiences with **me.**"

That got his attention. She smiled when his eyes met hers, and she explored all the new hues of red that intertwined in his irises now. He really was a vampire. His entire life has changed, for better or for worse only time would tell, yet he was concerned about disappointing her more than that. Graven hadn't changed who he fundamentally was.

_"Not yet. Here's hoping he never will."_

It was an impossible wish, but she was allowed to dream.

"Besides, you're a quick study," Serana smirked. "You're not warring with fangs as much anymore."

One of his poked out in an endearingly lopsided smile, infused with pride. It might have flared a touch bit too much. "As a professor, I always prided myself on being driven to learn and experiment during my tenure, and there were many enlightening lessons as a result. You'll find I rarely make the same mistake twice."

_"I lost count how many times he's bumped teeth with me after 14." _Serana wisely kept that to herself, because she wasn't in the mood to debate semantics. She was in the mood for something else entirely. Graven continued to talk, something about the college and magic, and she grew impatient. She grabbed his hands and guided them to rest on her hips, and cradled his jaw to pull him in for a kiss he wouldn't be able to break so easily again.

Graven's hands eventually became more courageous, lured out of his shell. Serana took it as the go ahead to ramp it up just a slight bit of a notch and gently sucked on his bottom lip. She smirked in the kiss when she enticed a groan from him, and his movements lost precision. His touch grew adventurous and he got his revenge. She gasped when he pulled her closer by her rump, but then he tensed against her and stopped kissing. His hands slid back to rest on her hips.

"Um... was that too much, too soon?"

Serana bit the inside of her cheek to stop her smile. She angled her head and tried to coax his lips into moving against hers again, to avoid a direct answer and scandalous confession.

"Sera?"

And her tactic failed.

"I'll let you know if you've gone too far," she whispered. Her hands fell and she hooked her fingers on the string of the loin cloth. It seemed to be too much, too soon for Graven, when he grabbed her wrists with enough gentle force to usher a silent plea not to do more. _"Not that I would. I'm not that bold." _But she was surprising herself with her actions. She never thought of herself to be a leader, especially in this, but there was a sense of security to be had in the way Graven fretted over her experience.

There was a sense of thrill to be had in the way she was flustering him, too. No more composure. She was sick of him being so calm and controlled. _"Maybe sick is too strong."_

Maybe she still viewed him as a prey to chase and play with.

"I need more to work with," Graven murmured in between kisses. His hands remained stagnant on her hips. "What's out of bounds?"

"I don't know," she confessed impatiently. She broke the kiss and went for his neck to instigate action rather than thought. She needed help shutting her own brain off, and now she was working double time to shut his off too. "There aren't any rules like your wards. We'll find out where the line is when we cross it."

"That's the thing. I want to build trust, Sera. I don't want to do something your body will forever remember me by. I don't want to engrave trauma in your muscles."

This was beginning to get irritating. She broke the kiss and leaned back to give him a long hard stare. It didn't faze him. He had that calm aura about him and that just wasn't fair. She wanted him to be as flustered as her. "You won't. Do you think I'd be kissing you if I had thought you'd do such a thing? You're not without ears nor wit. I trust you'll listen to what I have to say if you ever make me feel that way, but I have no doubts that you'll ever make me feel that way to begin with." She narrowed her eyes. "Is that satisfactory or is there something else?"

Graven blinked as if he was surprised that she was short with him. Then he bit his lip. Subtle, like the rest of how he handled this, and that was exactly what was maddening. It kept her wanting for more, and it was as if he was rationing... whatever he was rationing. Now he was stripping her of her logic too.

"You are a force to be reckoned with," he murmured, eyebrows risen as if he was still surprised. Abruptly, that changed. A dark and hungry look glossed his eyes and it woke something up inside of her. He smirked, seductive in it's own quirky way. He tenderly nudged her jaw away to expose her neck, and planted a soft kiss on her pulse, his voice dropping in an alluring rasp that seemed to make such a simple statement dance. "I love it."

They both jumped in their skin when sharp knocks cut into the room.

"Lady Serana? Are you and the new blood in there?" Came the voice on the other side of the door.

Serana's head dropped on Graven's shoulder as she muttered, "I'm going to kill them."

Graven had the audacity to laugh. He struck before she could and wove his fingers in the back of her hair, tugging enough to lift her head off his shoulder so that he could nibble on her neck. She hissed and sank her nails in his shoulders. Something ignited in the pits of her belly, and she swore she was going to explode when the knocks came through again.

"Yes, we're in here!" Serana fought to retain composure, no matter how much she wanted to snap. "Who is it?"

"Garan, Lady Serana. I have an invitation your father urgently wanted me to extend to you. Do I have permission to enter?"

"No!" She bit her tongue before she hissed a little louder, when Graven sucked in a patch of skin and rolled it between teeth. She tried to give him a warning look, and she was sure he deliberately positioned himself in the way that he had so that he could pretend he didn't see what he **knew** he was getting. Serana could almost sense Garan's awkwardness outside the door and sighed. "What does my father want with me?" She huffed sarcastically. "Let me guess: the elder scroll?"

There was a notable pause. One Graven extended tortuously when he had the audacity to laugh, silently, by stopping his kiss. His body trembled as he fought to suppress it.

"Well, yes," Garan admitted hesitantly. "That as well, but that's not why he sent me. He is throwing a party to celebrate your return, Lady Serana."

Serana dropped her head on Graven's shoulder again and groaned. "He is, is he? When is the party?"

"Tonight, Lady Serana."

Serana cursed under her breath. Not because of the loyal foot soldier outside the door, but the man that tormented her with teasing touches. Graven's hands wandered to her rump and experimentally squeezed as if he was still afraid of crossing her, but it made her blood run hot as lava. He hissed when she ran her nails down to the corners of his shoulders to his biceps. Angry red lines blazed on his grey skin.

"Lady Serana?" Garan poked the atmosphere. The messenger was very close to dying. "We're all looking forward to your attendance. What shall I tell our Lord?"

She shot a dirty look at the door. Graven smiled like a fool as he tended to her neck, whispering. "Play nice."

She shot a dirty look at him, too. _"I'll show him my definition of nice if he keeps this up." _She was going to take his amusement away. He was having far too much fun with this, and she huffed as she pushed him away, heading to the door with poised stride. She fixed her clothes and hair quickly before she answered the door with a sweet smile. "Very well, inform the Lord that he can count on my appearance. Is it formal attire?"

Garan's spine straightened in her presence. "It will be provided. Lord Harkon has already fetched the seamstress to make your dress, as well as the new blood's outfit."

_"Fetched as in kidnapping an innocent, or has already made one a thrall? Must it be a dress?" _Serana maintained appearances with her smile and nodded. Anything to get this done and over with sooner, and spare her the impending drama of the court. "Lovely. I'm looking forward to it. Extend my gratitude and thanks to the seamstress, please." She closed the door on Garan after he bowed and turned around to face the man casually sitting on her desk, his heels tapping against it, his hands curled around the table edge as they rested between his legs just enough to rouse heat in her cheeks from how his loin cloth showed the slightest glimpses of what rested beneath.

_"He isn't going to get a rise out of me that easily." _The corner of her lip tugged up and her eyes narrowed dangerously, meant to instill fear in her prey as she approached. For a moment, Graven looked afraid, but he stood his ground. Or sat. She enjoyed their little game, for it took her mind away from here.

_"But I need to warn him about what to do in court to protect himself."_

A good-hearted intention that didn't last long the moment he hopped off the desk and framed her jaw, pulling her in for a heavy kiss. And he broke it. A thin strip of saliva connected them, and Graven was more out of breath than her. His head remained tilted, his mouth an inch away, panting against her lips. The hungry look in his eyes never faded.

"What should I do at the party, Sera?"

Serana wanted to groan. She had to be the stronger one of the two, and she gently pushed him away, turning around to help resist this nagging temptation that taunted her. Maybe her feelings were amplified by the turning, but she had never seen any of the other vampires even remotely intimate with their new bloods. She shuddered when his hands rolled up her arms, squeezing her shoulders.

"Lady Serana?" It danced off his tongue.

She rolled her eyes. "I want to say don't call me that, but you'll have to in court."

"Not a problem."

_"Why do I have a feeling him being subservient won't be an issue for anything? I'm worried to ask if it's actually an act or not." _Serana strode to the bed and picked up his clothes, turning around and throwing them at him with a smirk. "And tell no one what we do."

"In general, or in here?"

"Both, but especially tell nobody about me and you, or they'll recognize you as a threat. Then they'll challenge you to climb the ladder of hierarchy and power."

Graven, thankfully, clothed without protest. And she hated that. _"Would it kill him to look as bothered as I feel?" _She wanted to strip him back down and continue where they left off. She wanted to test her own boundaries, to tackle her fears, to sate her curiosities, to feed and fuel desire. Now that she had a taste of how touch could actually make her feel good, she needed more. She wanted to explore him, but most of all, she wanted him to explore her. There was something endearing in watching and being the receiving end of his growing confidence. She wanted to make a memory, an experience, one that would erase the last.

"Sera?"

Serana snapped out of her stupor and realized she was gawking at him. He blinked innocently at her. It instigated a predatory instinct in her.

_"This just isn't fair. I hope I look as calm as he does, and that he feels as flustered as I am."_

Graven had that worried look again. He wore a meek smile. "Was all of that satisfactory, or was there something I could improve on? I'm open to constructive criticism."

_"Oblivion take him. What am I supposed to do with this sweet fool?" _Serana shook her head and approached him, taking the laces out of his hands to thread them through his shirt's collar for him. She 'accidentally' skimmed her nails against his skin as she did. It drew the effect she wanted and he grew antsy in his spot, struggling to maintain calm. She smirked at him. "You should get some rest, you're going to need it for tonight."

With that subtle double entendre, she left him and purposefully strode to her desk, searching her drawers as an excuse. In his mind, this table had already made a mark, a memory, an experience. One she fully intended to taunt him with as she resisted every attempt from here on out. She was going to have and hold the upper hand in their little game.

A game she apparently was playing by herself.

When she looked up next, Graven had actually taken her word as an earnest suggestion and made her sheets so that her bed looked immaculate, before he laid on top of them in his clothes. He didn't seem the slightest bit affected, and he was sure to display nervousness over such a blatantly sexual hint. Perhaps he had already known she wasn't going to go through with it, because she wasn't. She wasn't ready. But there was the other possibility that... could it be? Could it actually be? Had she met her match and found someone that rivaled her difficulty at grasping innuendos? She never thought of herself as a scandalous woman, nor thought of scandalous things and was sooner to avert them, but it seemed Graven was even worse than her.

_"Serves me right. This is the man that kept saying 'experiment' after all."_

Graven lied on his side to face her and folded his arm under his head instead of using one of her pillows. He smiled, honest and sincere, as he patted the spot in front of him. "If you have nothing pressing that requires your attention, I cordially invite you to an evening of napping with me."

A chuckle bubbled in Serana's chest. She leaned on her desk, the old wood groaning beneath her palms, and in the back of the naughtier part of her mind, she wondered if it would have even been able to support them. They had gotten a little carried away on it. She snapped out of it and her cheeks warmed from the thought. This was his fault. She wasn't that kind of woman.

"I suppose I could use a nap," she conceded coolly. Truthfully, it made her nervous to actually sleep beside him, but she wanted to see if she could do it. She moved stiffly and had to force herself the last couple of steps. A knot balled up in her throat. She stood staring at the empty space in front of him, and she could see his worried look in her peripheral vision. _"I don't have to stay if I'm uncomfortable. I have that luxury, with him. He wouldn't want me to be uncomfortable."_

"Sera..."

_"We're both in our clothes. It will be fine. I will be fine. He won't hurt me. I can ask him not to touch me."_

"Of course, not a problem. If you want, I can sleep on the floor or the chair instead."

Serana's gaze snapped to him in confusion. "I... did I say all of that out loud?"

Graven smiled as if he was embarrassed **for** her. "I'm afraid so, yes."

Heat throbbed painfully under her cheeks. She wanted to retreat, and begun to turn, but he caught her hand and pulled her enough to hit the edge and stumble for balance.

"It's alright, Serana. I want you to be honest with me. I want you to be comfortable with me. And I want you to enjoy your time with me, rather than fear or regret it."

Serana still couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes. _"How foolish of me. I can't believe I said all of that out loud. Of course, why wouldn't I?" _It made her incredibly conscious and certain she locked up every precious thought now. She still couldn't remember saying it out loud, and that was just as terrifying as Graven hearing it all. He smiled that damn smile, all quirky and sweet, that it made her war with her doubts if someone like him could even exist, or if it was all just an act. That was just the dark voice, the livid one that was also responsible for communicating a vampire's baser and more vicious needs. _"That has to be it, right?"_

"Come on, Sera-Sera," he quipped playfully. She rolled her eyes. "What? You said I have to call you Lady Serana."

"In the court."

"Mm hm."

"And? This isn't the court."

"Neither did you say that I couldn't say Sera-Sera."

"I do vividly recall kicking you in the leg. If you've forgotten, I'm sure we can jog your memory."

Graven laughed. It pulled a smile out of her, however stubborn she was not to make one because of shame, and he pulled a yelp out of her too when he literally pulled her down onto the bed. He wrapped his arms around her, and one of his legs tangled in between hers. His mouth buried at the top of her head, where cool breaths seeped into her scalp. It made her miss his warmth terribly.

It made her regret her decision to turn him.

Her heart retreated in a shell to stave off the pain. At least he had a soothing quality to him, one that tamed and lulled the senses that screamed at her to get away. She was as tense as a rock, she was sure, but over time it melted in the pockets of silence between their breaths. She turned to make herself comfortable and he lifted his arms off of her, waiting until she had, then embraced her again when she stopped moving. It made her want to **squirm.** Her ear was over his chest, his heartbeat incredibly slow compared to when he was 'alive'. It almost brought her spirits down again until he pressed his mouth harder against her head.

"Sweet dreams, Serana. If you do get uncomfortable, please, I urge you, do not hesitate to let me know."

Serana smiled. _"He's not like **that. **__He will never be like that." _

"Okay, Sera-Sera?"

"This is not becoming a thing, Graven."

"This has already become a thing, Sera-Sera."

Serana didn't stop her laughter in time. She pinched his hip in revenge. "Stop it, or I'll do worse than that."

Silence abruptly fell. She worried if she had said something wrong, and she was about to lift her head to get a good look at his face and see if she had.

His whisper made her worry about something else entirely.

"What makes you think I'd object?"

Serana almost choked on her own breath.

_"I__ don't think this is an act."_


	18. Chapter 18

Reality bent it's knee to her will. She went through the motions to ensure what was real and what was a dream, coaching herself back into her imaginative lucid world. She poked her finger through her palm and smiled, pleased, when it had gone through her hand.

Next came imagining what she wanted, the needs and curiosity she wanted sated, the safe environment she hadn't felt in the waking world. One person was still able to scrap a modicum of safety, but it wouldn't last long. He had yet to see the reality of life in the castle under the thumb of her father. Concerns drifted when the smell of cinnamon sweetroll and a heavenly spicy aroma enticed her. She smiled as her eyes slipped shut and took a deep breath in.

_"I'm not leaving you in the place where demons live." _A poke to her forehead. _"I'm coming into that place..." _She opened her eyes and saw a playful smile dancing on the lips of the roguish man who had conjured before her, and Graven's words continued to echo in her memories. _"So you can enjoy my company instead."_

His clothes remained on him, despite her memory dictating otherwise. The turning. He still looked how he was, before being turned. It **hurt.** Her gaze fell to the ground and her eyes stung. A gentle hand cupped her jaw. It slipped away enough to get a look at the base of his palm, to feel the skin rub against hers. Bereft of callouses, but all the tiny scars that hinted towards the life he led, of all the alchemical and magical experiments gone wrong.

She never noticed these details before. Was this just her perception of him in order to see them here? He must have done some sort of hard labor during his life in Windhelm with his family if they lived in impoverished slums. They had to have had made ends meet somehow. His father's store couldn't have been the only source of income. She looked up at him, at the ruby red eyes untainted by vampirism, of the iron gray skin unblemished by the resting monstrous snarl of bloodlust. Though his natural appearance may have looked terrifying to the common farmer, his eyes held such gentleness and serenity that revealed his true alignment to the world.

_"I've just got one of those faces everybody loves," _Graven retorted with a derisive air about him. He inched closer with his crossbow.

They came a long way since that moment they were at each other's throats in his home. They started off on the wrong foot and came back from that. There was hope for more people to do the same with vampires, to see the possibility of civility was not impossible. If only people stopped and paid attention to that instead of... what did it matter? The world would see the appearance of an actual monster. And she turned him into that. She robbed that serenity. She couldn't look at him anymore.

"Does it pain you to see me like this, Sera?"

Here, she could be honest. She could be honest about anything and everything, for it would never reach the waking world. It didn't make it any easier to breathe life and give form to the words bubbling in her throat. She settled for a lame nod, her head bowed in defeat. _"It should have never happened. I should have never allowed him to come with me in that wretched place. I should have known better. I should have known father-"_

"It isn't your fault, Serana." Graven whispered as tenderly as he touched her. His thumb swept back and forth along her jawline. "I made the choice to follow you. I am not without my will and prerogative. If you remember, it was my idea initially to travel with you and take you home. It was my idea not to leave you alone."

"You didn't know what you were getting into," she mumbled, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. "I... miss who you were, before the turning."

"I'm still me, Sera."

"No, not that. I know that."

For now, she knew that. She would question it someday, given time, once power had all the opportunities to corrupt him. He may not take the first one that fell in his lap, but the regret would steadily build with each one he rejected. For now, there came a heavier confession, or at least, a slightly embarrassing one. She tucked her face closer to his neck and closed her eyes, drinking in his scent. Her fangs slipped out on their own when the temptation of blood teased her. But how could that be? He was a vampire in the waking world, but here she imagined his mortal form. A taste wouldn't hurt, to relive the memory and the rush she felt upon first sinking her fangs into his palm back on the boat.

The world around them changed in that instant, where the impenetrable hollow darkness cracked and caved as details painted their way to life. Her feet had solid ground, or at least as solid as it could be with old rickety wooden floorboards. The refreshing chill of the night air and the gentle breeze of the wind rolled through her body. Water lapped at the boat, anchored in the middle of nowhere, where she wished with all her might she could be.

Graven's voice flooded her ear. "When somebody dreams, it's things like how they want to be a valorous warrior, or run a successful store. You dream of the two things you should have always had: choice and freedom." Though his voice was in her ear, his body was far away. She looked up and saw how he held out his hand. Each time she blinked, his appearance changed from mortal to vampire. "We can make your dreams come true, and it's not to late for me to be who I was. Vampirism can be reversed. I still have contact with a treasured colleague who knows how to make this so."

"Then why did you agree to be turned in the first place, if you're just going to turn back?"

Why was she asking questions when her subconscious would give her the answers she wanted?

"Because it was just to remain by your side without being seen as a threat or insult to the Lord of the court." Graven approached her, and his appearance stopped morphing. He remained mortal. A tranquil smile graced his lips and he wound behind her. His arms circled her waist, his scruffy chin pleasantly scratching her neck. "You do not want to stay here in the castle. We don't have to."

"We do." Serana's hands slid over his over her belly, and a strange feeling washed over her when she intertwined their fingers. Lust was so much easier than whatever this was. "We have to, at least until we find out what my father is planning."

"And then we escape?"

"Mm hm." She started to turn in his arms. "We'll figure out what to do then, but for now..." Serana faced him and looped her arms around his neck. Guilt wasn't given a chance to fester any longer when his ruby eyes bore into hers for the brief second they had, before she leaned in to kiss him. Even in this dream, his hands remained passive. That wouldn't do. She wanted fire to burn hot inside her chest, she wanted his heat to return, to scald her. Her wishes were answered and his hands grew hot on her hips.

They still remained passive.

Unable to give voice to her desire, they remained trapped within her mind. It shouldn't matter, for this dream would react and transform soon to reflect her needs. The frustration boiled inside of her. She pushed against his stomach to stumble back until he was trapped against the ship railing, to make sure her prey would have nowhere to run. One blink, and she smirked when he looked down at himself in confusion.

"Not this again," he groaned, his bare hands running down his bare chest. "I'm genuinely concerned over the pirates' apparent allergy to shirts."

Serana chuckled. She replaced his hands with hers and leaned in, drawing a shuddering gasp from him when she scraped her fangs against his throat. She used the two pinprick marks that were already there but didn't let her mind muse on their origin, and instead she freely indulged her every temptation. She sank her teeth into his neck and hot blood flooded her mouth. They both groaned, and she almost ripped out of him, surprised when he had craned his neck to reach hers to nibble on a patch of skin. Pain chased pleasure when he bit just a little too hard, his teeth blunt. He sucked on the patch and rolled it between his teeth before he released with a resounding pop. A smile licked the corners of her bloodstained lips upon the thought that that was going to bruise. A mortal's claiming mark. It was unfortunate it wouldn't last long with her regenerative abilities.

"I can make it last longer," Graven husked, and for a moment, she was surprised. Then she remembered.

_"Right, this is my dream. Of course he knows what I'm thinking."_

Graven chuckled and pulled away with a roguish smile, wincing when her fangs slid out of him. "Of course. Now..." His fingers came up to where he bit her, massaging in a small circle. She wondered how he could bypass a vampire's natural healing abilities. An unsavory idea hit her and his expression reflected what she strongly disdained. Restoration magic.

"No way, Graven. I'm drawing a line there. I get that you love magic but you are **not** burning me."

"What if it's with normal fire instead of holy fire?"

"Well that'll still heal. Maybe not right away, but eventually."

"Then I could reapply it." Graven's smile slipped wider in a devious smirk. "I'll try to make it so it's painless, though I'd say it would only be fair with you biting me. Equality, Serana."

"There is no equality." Serana mirrored his smirk and shrugged. "Technically, now in terms of prestige and rank, I'm above you."

Graven looked stumped. Of course he would be, this is her dream. Then he got her back as he cupped her chin and he showed his true diabolical nature as he whispered in her ear. "Duly noted. Antuta admaan. Now I know what gets you going, Yi Ara Serana."

_"That... What does that mean? That has to be gibberish." _Serana stared, flustered but ignoring the subtext of his context, until the words and knowledge flowed through her mind.

Antuta admaan. **Learn by serving.**

Yi Ara. **My ****Queen.**

Graven never spoke those words before though, or at least not that she immediately remembered. There was still much to learn in the subconsciousness of this world.

"Now it makes sense." His murmur scalded her ears, and soon, her cheeks as well. "How you kissed me when you were on top of me on the bed, or when you pinned me against your desk... I wouldn't object if you were to do those kinds of things again, Yi Ara." Even without seeing him, she knew he was smirking. She knew he was enjoying this. He wasn't as sweet and romantic as he postured, at least in the waking world.

Part of her wished that all of this wasn't just a product of her own desires, but his too. The idea alone aroused her that she wasn't the only one with thoughts like this.

"Would you like me to bring the pelts from the lower deck to up here, or would you like to go to the cabin, Sera?"

She didn't know. She hadn't thought this far ahead, and what this was leading up to had unsettled her a little. She was turned in his arms and in the blink of an eye, there was a thick bear pelt laid out. Her stomach coiled taut and her heart tightened around her throat. He squeezed her shoulders and hummed quietly. "We can just lay down and look at the stars, if that's to your liking."

Wordlessly, she was led by his hand intertwined with hers. His clothes changed and he was back to the attire he wore in the comfort of his home, with his coat folded neatly beside the pelt. He glanced behind him with a timid smile, his ruby eyes illuminated by the sea of stars above them and the moonlit sea surrounding them. Her gaze fell to her arm, trailing down to their joined hands. She took the lead and broke their link when she knelt on the pelt and removed her boots. Graven did the same as he took his place to lie beside her.

Silence fell between them. She struggled with the words to fill it. She stole many glances over at him, and was left wondering what he was going to do. What did that mean for what was going on inside of her, then?

She chewed on her lip and stared up at the stars, connecting the dots between them. No insightful answers miraculously dawned on her. She felt fractured, and the disconnect inside of her made it hard to reflect exactly what it was that she was feeling and wanted.

Tentative fingers glided over the knuckles over her hand. It made a lump grow in her throat, and she couldn't bring herself to look down at him touching her, anxiety flickering and sparking. His fingers didn't venture past her wrist, and grew into a pacifying lullaby as he stroked different shapes on the back of her hand. Then energy subtly buzzed on her skin. It soothed her anxiety away and her eyes shut.

Breaths warmed her lips moments later, and she parted them to accept the mouth that tenderly enveloped hers. Locks of his hair brushed the underside of her jaw and she smiled at the ticklish sensation. She opened her eyes to see him continuously slicking his hair back, and caught glimpse of something flash beneath his palm. As it roved back down his scalp, she saw and chuckled at the sight of frost trailing along.

_"I see cooling me down back then has helped evolved your practice and grasp of the frost element. This is a very wise and practical use of magic," _she thought teasingly.

He smirked in his kiss, one he renewed his effort in as soon as his obstacle was dealt with.

Serana closed her eyes, her hand blindly searching to hook on his nape. Fingers intertwined in her other hand and brought it up to pin beside her head, her smile growing every time he would squeeze her. She angled her head and succumbed to the simple pleasures of kissing him, though remained somewhat timid, caught off guard when his tongue poked her lips. It took a few tries until she opened her mouth and explored the new strange sensations with him, chuckling when he tentatively sucked the tip of her tongue with certain uncertainty.

If only they were bold enough to try this in the waking world. Maybe she could use this dream to instill that courage?

That hot thing began to bubble in her chest again, where her body quietly protested, frustrated when they went unheeded. She lost herself in the motions and the tastes, growing more and more comfortable taking turns as they explored the other's mouth.

She smirked in the kiss when she pulled a shudder out of him as she trailed her tongue along his teeth. He got his revenge and drew a gasp from her when he tucked his knee between her legs, but it was still an excruciating distance between his knee and her intimate part. If she moved her pelvis, she could get subtle brushes, but every time she reached, he'd pull back a couple inches.

_"Don't tease me," _she growled within her mind.

Another gasp was pulled out of her when he dipped under her jawline to kiss her neck. Distracted by his motions, her hand was pulled off his neck with ease and was also pinned beside her head, fingers knitted together. Despite her demand, he continued to tease her, his knee skirting the edge as he lightly brushed against her.

"**Graven,**" Serana commanded. Her tone would say more than words ever could, not that words were even needed in this world.

"Hm?" Just as he commanded innocence. It wouldn't work this time. "Yes, Ara Sera? How may I be of assistance?"

"That's not going to work on me. I-" her sentence died and she hissed when he sucked in a patch of skin between his teeth. Her eyes rolled shut when his knee pressed firmly.

Then it disappeared.

He continued to play on the outskirts, his lips ghosting her neck with butterfly kisses. It was driving her **mad. **Her head lulled back and her back arched to grant better access to her throat. She slid their arms up above her head, where she watched how their fingers cleanly intertwined. Nothing about any of this was muddled or muddy, unlike the emotions swirling searing hot in her chest. She was terrified where this was leading to, but at the same time, she wanted it desperately.

Something knocked in the far distance, and they stopped. Their heads perked to follow the origin of sound. In the blink of an eye, it all disappeared from her grasp. Graven was gone and she shot up into sitting, surrounded by the impenetrable darkness, her focus broken. It forced her to be acutely aware of what was going on both in body and mind: chaos.

She tuned in to the raggedness of her breathing rhythm, and sucked in deep breaths to calm herself. She stared at her hands, where her fingers weren't as sharp as they were a minute ago, nor did they bear the details on her own skin as they had with the scars on his. She tested the lucidity of it all and was able to poke through her palm, yet she was able to hold Graven's hands in a manner where they were both distinct entities.

More sounds in the distance were breaking her concentration, and there was some sort of abnormal coolness enveloping her body. She closed her eyes and drifted in the darkness, tuning in to the other sounds that made it easier to define where was the dream world and the waking world. It grew sharper, and then she could discern the light beyond her eyelids.

Slowly, she opened her eyes. She saw the source of the abnormality when she looked beside her and saw that Graven wasn't napping beside her on the bed anymore. Another sound drew her gaze to the other source of a different abnormality, where Graven was perched on a stool, his arms out, clad in only his loincloth. His eyes met hers and he waved minutely without breaking his posture, while a man measured his arms' wingspan and his legs.

"Oh," Serana mumbled, putting the pieces together when she saw a small team of seamstresses on standby. She smiled when she observed the dunmer. _"He looks so uncomfortable. I guess he's never been fitted and tailored before. At least he'll have his own set of 'exquisite clothes' he can give his father to sell, if he doesn't want to keep it. Maybe this party won't be so bad."_

It would be fun to see how Graven will fare during such a prestigious event. Father will undoubtedly go all out for the affair, and just as undoubtedly make a toast in which the speech will praise the elder scroll more than his daughter's return.

_"What a rotten taste to be left with." _Serana pushed up into sitting and studied Graven as a distraction from such thoughts, taking great amusement in his discomfort.

She adjusted how she sat when there was her own kind of discomfort nagging her in a certain place, and that the object of lust-driven desire be so close, hers for the taking. Her gaze traveled the angry red lines that marred his shoulders from earlier when he had squeezed her rump. Cheeks warmed, and not-so-innocent ideas flooded in her mind from the dream. She forced herself to climb off the bed in order to get away from that line of thinking and collect herself.

"Lady Serana, whenever you are ready, you have but to let us know," one of the seamstresses drawled with a voice as leathery as her wrinkled face. She didn't appear as a vampire nor as a thrall, perhaps granted to retain her mind and freedom in order to accomplish quality with her tailoring. She approached Serana and gestured to a pedestal. "We will proceed to note what changes we need to make as soon as you change into your dress and step on there."

"I see. And where is my dress?" Serana dreaded the question, for she wasn't looking forward to donning one. She used to be fascinated by them as a child, but the moment she turned into a vampire, her dreams and femininity died with her mortality.

The woman who seemed to be the head seamstress snapped her fingers and ordered one of the others to fetch the dress, and they retrieved it from behind the room divider. Serana's breath caught in her throat and she wanted to groan with disgust when she quickly glanced at Graven's eyes, where his had lit up with excitement as soon as they fixed on the dress, and he grinned at her.

_"Kill me now."_

Serana was sure it was written all over her face when he chuckled, though the others remained confused. She shrugged them off and crossed her arms, glaring at him for a second before she turned to accept the black ballgown from the assistant. "Thank you. It looks lovely," she forced out.

"What are you waiting for?" The head seamstress barked at the assistant. "Move the divider over so that Our Lady has privacy to change!"

"A-at once!"

_"Yeah. No. I'm not in a rush here." _Serana sighed and reluctantly conceded to her cursed fate, staring at the assistant when she went to go hide behind the wall. The woman wasn't moving and stared back. "I'll be fine donning this myself," Serana said.

The nervous assistant skittered away. "Y-yes, my ap-apologies, Lady Serana!"

On the other side of this wall, Serana could hear Graven sniggering. He was going to pay for this. **Dearly.** She decided to get this done and over with and changed as quickly as she could, ignoring the way her heart ached as she went through the motions she had as a child... but mother wasn't here to help her, and she refused to ask for help.

Serana shed her clothes and lowered the ballgown on the floor, stepping carefully into it before she hoisted it up to her torso. It was a sleeveless corset, and she had done up the front with practiced speed. She buttoned up the back as much as she could reach, holding the corset to her chest as she stepped out and made a beeline for her pedestal. A chorus of gasps shot out at her side upon revealing herself, but the only one she really heard was Graven's.

She couldn't bring herself to look at him and hoped her cheeks didn't appear as warm and red as they felt. _"How embarrassing is this... Well, it's nothing less than what I deserve after watching him with amusement. I'm sure he's getting his fair share of it now."_

"Beautiful, Lady Serana," the head seamstress cooed. "And it appears that the measurements last taken haven't changed."

_"Did she seriously expect it to change with a vampire?"_

"I don't see anything we have to do." The seamstress preened the black corset, where the top that rested on Serana's chest reflected the shape of a bat with it's wings stretched out. The bottom split into upside down swords, where an ornamental iron chain hung loosely to connect the tips of the swords and rested over top the ballgown with more ornaments of vampiric symbolism that Serana couldn't care for. The seamstress clicked her tongue and in seconds, the team moved over from Graven to tend to her, where they fixed the way the large hourglass figure of the ballgown had sat. They stretched out the black sides to reveal the ruffled crimson fabric in the middle.

_"Are those roses?" _Serana tried to hide her displeasure at the sight of two big black roses, one on each side of the gown, sewn on with red ribbons tied at the base of them.

"Now for the finishing touch," the seamstress stared at Serana's neck, gaze flickering back up and down from her neck to her eyes.

_"What is she looking at me like that for?"_

No answers were anywhere in sight. The seamstress cautiously donned a choker, though that caution seemed to be reverence for the choker more so than Serana. The assistants carried a mirror in front of her and she bit her tongue at the sight of Molag Bal's face on her neck, just like her previous outfit.

_"I will never be free of him..."_

Words and actions drowned out as Serana fell in her own little world. She stopped paying attention to the seamstress and the assistants as they poked and prodded the ballgown while they showered her with compliments.

She still couldn't bring herself to look at Graven and didn't know where he was, what he was doing, or if he was saying anything. The embarrassment of it all was nothing to the anger that was steadily boiling inside of her over the entire frustrating and hopeless situation.

The rest of her ballgown was done up in the back, and the head seamstress' proud smile conjured more deep wrinkles in her face. "Shall I do your hair, My Lady?"

"That's not necessary. I can do it myself," Serana answered numbly.

"Very well. If you'll excuse us, we will set to work on tailoring the new blood's outfit. We should be back before the party is due to start in the hour." The seamstress bowed respectfully, then clicked her tongue. In seconds, the wave of bodies flooded out like water rushing through a broken dam.

_"I must spend an hour longer than necessary in this foolish dress?" _Serana thought, grumbling under her breath. Her gaze skipped up at the sounds of bare feet padding to her.

"Pure artistry," Graven choked out in a feeble whisper. "Stunning, graceful, absolutely ravishing. You look heavenly, Serana."

She chewed the corner of her lip and forced herself to look at him, ignoring the heat flushing at her chest. "Can you tone it down?" She waved at his eyes in a shoo'ing manner. "The way you're looking at me too, please."

Graven chuckled warmly and slung his arm across his midriff as he bowed. "I will do my best to accomplish the impossible, My Lady."

"Not you too," she groaned, bunching up the ball gown as she stepped down. "I already said not to address me like that unless we're in court or in the presence of other vampires."

"Ah, but technically we are each in the presence of another vampire," he quipped playfully. Serana rolled her eyes. She released the ballgown, and was taken aback when he stepped up to her, still clad in nothing but his loincloth. He was tempting extremely dangerous ideas. He cupped his fingers under hers and gently pulled her, kissing her with a cocky roguish smile plastered on his face and an equally cocky whisper. "I know you like it, My Lady."

Serana huffed against his lips, but she couldn't think of a suitable comeback. _"I don't exactly dislike it, I guess..."_

Kissing him was beginning to feel more and more natural, and they bumped fangs less often. She caught herself glancing at the mirror behind him often, studying his back. Her head lulled back to grant access when he kissed his way down to her neck. The choker jostled when his chin hit the ornament of Molag Bal.

"Take it off," she croaked hoarsely. "It should be a simple clasp, I'll put it back on when we need to leave for the party. But for now..." She was stuck mid-sentence when she watched the choker slip away from her neck through the mirror's reflection, and she was stunned with what she saw: a bruise on her neck, albeit healing quickly due to vampirism's boons, but it's the same spot Graven kissed in her dream. She nonchalantly hid her hands behind her back and poked her palm. Her finger didn't go through. This wasn't a dream. Graven peeled away from her with a deceptively innocent smile. What he said, and how he said it with husky confidence, was more of a shock than the bruise on her neck.

"Whatever you want, you have only to let me know and I will do it. I am your servant, and you are Yi Ara, Serana."

Coincidence, this may have been...

But she didn't believe in coincidences.

* * *

Author's Note

Sorry for disappearing for so long. The coronavirus outbreak has taken a huge toll, but it's finally starting to look up now. I hope everyone has been as safe and okay as they possibly can be during these times! Thanks for reading this, hope you enjoyed it and see you next chapter :) it'll be time to party!


	19. Chapter 19

Serana played it calm and cool as she casually prodded the bruise on her neck. She circled around Graven as she stepped up to the mirror to take a closer look, just as she kept a close eye on him. He looked over her shoulder, gaze flicking from her neck to her eyes. For a second, something crossed his face that called out to a deep carnal desire in the pits of her belly. Then mild worry.

"Was that from when Garan interrupted us?" Graven asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't think I was biting but I guess I might have... well... sucked a little too hard."

_"When did Garan... oh."_

Right. Graven nibbled on her neck too, and with fangs, so it was no wonder she had this bruise. That was around the same time she left the marks on his shoulders too. She stole a quick glance behind her to check on them, where the angry red lines were also beginning to heal up on him.

_"Well, now. That's disappointing."_

Serana thumbed at the fading discoloration. She smiled a little timidly at him through the mirror, nodding. "I think so. Don't worry, it'll either be healed up before the party, or I'll put the necklace back on to hide it until it's gone."

"That seamstress saw it. Stared at it, in fact."

_"Not helping, Graven." _She shrugged. There wasn't anything she could do. But that also worked in her favor. "There isn't anything she can do or will do about it. She'll guard her tongue if she has any sense of self-preservation. Gossip isn't worth dying over, and it isn't her business anyways. Just because you're a new blood now or an ex-vampire hunter..."

Ex-vampire hunter. _"Is it safe to assume that? He didn't seem hostile to the ones in court nor his predicament now, though."_

The party would be the perfect place to observe him and ask how he felt about it all after, at least.

"Well, whom I'm intimate with is nobody's business." An annoyed frown tugged her features. "No matter how hard the court tries."

For some reason Graven smiled, quirky but sly. His hands gently kneaded her shoulders and he pressed a chaste kiss to one, murmuring suggestively in her skin. "Intimate, hm?"

"Careful, we're not out of the woods yet," Serana chuckled as she turned to break away from him. "The seamstress can come in at any moment with the others. They may not be so keen on securing their tongues and their lives." She gestured towards the shapes of swords on the ends of her corset, moving on to distract him by teasing. "What do you think about these? Not scared of these, huh?"

"They're not _real._" He scoffed as if he was offended, but his playful smirk said otherwise. "It's not like they'll cut me, but even I'll admit that's clever workmanship."

"So... not afraid? I dare you to touch them, then." Serana crossed her arms, testing the constraints of the bloody corset. At least it wasn't crushing her organs or impaling them with her own ribs. She had plenty of amusement and distraction herself with how Graven pretended to be all tough and unfazed, but the suspicious look he was giving her corset said it all. It fueled her smile.

She chuckled when he too crossed his arms and looked off at the wall, but his nervous tic betrayed him when his hand snuck through his hair and rubbed his nape for a moment. She stepped up to him, or tried to, frowning down when the poofy ball gown complicated matters. She sighed. "I hope I can get out of this soon."

Her gaze panned to the gray hands that reached and squeezed her forearms, leaving a trail of tingles as they tenderly ghosted up to her shoulders. Though they weren't a blazing heat as they were when he was mortal, there still ebbed a familiar warmth she latched on to.

She looked up at him, and the dark hooded look of his eyes stirred something within her. Whatever those eyes were screaming at her, it was contrasted by his sheepish and quirky smile. It made it clear that his real thoughts were locked away in a cage.

_"Say it," _she coached herself into blurting. _"Ask him to say it."_

Easier said than done, if she couldn't even push herself into saying that.

There was an almost nauseating rush about it all with how close they were to doing the things they did in her dream, and that made it borderline painful instead.

Was she wrong for wishing a little more boldness? Was it a sign that they both needed to be honest with both each other and themselves about what they wanted? He came off more so shy and apologetic than confident, unless it was innocent touch. To be fair, she was kind of the same.

_"Hopefully not for long."_

One of his hands glided up from her shoulder to hook on her nape, pulling her in. Her eyes closed and she angled her head for the kiss, but it was no kiss at all. His forehead rested against hers and his breath teased her lips. It didn't help tame the crescendo of protests inside of her. His fingers buried in the back of her hair, accidentally tugging on some knotty tresses, and the wave of electricity buzzing under her skin made it hard not to seize control and kiss him herself. She opened her eyes and found him staring back at her, and still he had that dark look about him. His upper lip subtly brushed against hers from how close they were, and when he opened his mouth, her hopes soared.

"I..."

_"Say it. Or help me say it." _The need building inside of her was terrifying, but addictive. She felt as if she was going to explode in her skin if he didn't kiss her soon.

Graven's mouth moved uselessly, without words. It could have been put to use, preferably so, if he leaned another inch forward. It almost shocked her that her thoughts were getting more aggressive and impatient, but this man had almost always drawn the effect from her since the day they met. He sighed and abruptly pulled away with a lame smile.

"I can do your hair for you the way that I do mine."

_"Oblivion take him, there is no way that's what he wanted to say." _Serana tried not to let her disappointment and skepticism show. Her brow arched with confusion when he took a step back as he held up his hand. "I do have a brush, and I like my braids. I'm not really going to be putting that much effort in just because father's throwing a party. It's not for me even if he says it is."

"A brush will pale in comparison to my hand," Graven mockingly cockily boasted. The corner of his lips curled in a charming smirk when steam wafted away from his fingers.

"Magic." Serana said with a bored tone to tease him, and she rolled her eyes to fuel his smile. "I really, **really** should have known."

"You really, really should have," he chuckled. "Now stay still, and if it's to your liking as well, indulge my curiosity to see what you'll look like." He circled behind her, and she braced herself for slight scalding pain when he combed his fingers into the back of her hair. There was a burst of heat and a quick hiss, then nothing. She felt awkward standing there and didn't know what to do with herself, so she crossed her arms, feeling absolutely ludicrous in the dress with a man she'd much sooner be doing something else with than let him play with her hair.

Curiosity didn't care and poked her upon the next hiss. She tried to glance over her shoulder, until he grabbed the sides of her head to keep her facing forward.

"One moment, let me bring the mirror over so I can see what I'm doing when I work on the front." Graven's bare feet slapped against the tiles as he rushed, and Serana caught glimpse of his rump when the loincloth kicked up. A burst of heat pounded in her cheeks much like the heat that slowly collected in her hair. She stubbornly looked off in the complete opposite direction and fixed her gaze on the chandelier as he situated the mirror in front of her, resuming his work.

"Doesn't that hurt you?" Serana blurted, desperate to get away from her thoughts. "Your fire magic, I mean. Is it due to the dunmer blood in you that it's not?"

"Well, it stings a little bit now, but it's not intolerable. It's just steam. I imagine conjuring fire may be a little tricky now though, yes. I'll experiment another time."

Serana snuck a quick look at him through the mirror's reflection, watching peace lull his features as he studiously worked away. There was something comforting in the way he concentrated and applied himself to his tasks, especially when he appeared to enjoy them, and enjoy her company. She wasn't picky about her hair, so it wasn't a big deal to let him play. She was intrigued by the way he used his tattooed arm, where crimson lines ignited from his fingertips to his ribs.

"I never asked..." Serana started in a low voice. His gaze snapped up immediately, serene but intense at the same time. She swore she caught something glimmer in one of his eyes. _"This better not be one of those foolish sentimental things like in the books. I'm no starry-eyed woman." _

Her question was coaxed out of her when he placed his rune hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"Are those laced with magicka, or do they facilitate spells like a staff?" Serana asked. "I've seen it do a great many things based on the runes activated on your skin."

Graven beamed brightly with contagious excitement, and she chuckled at the way his eyes lit up with a familiar fire. "It can do both, both your hypotheses are correct. They're runes that I can tap into by investing a smaller minute amount of natural magicka in order to reap more of it, and lines I can connect together to draw a rune in order to cast different spells without it draining me. It's important for one to always have something in reserve, in this day and age."

"Something tells me it's not at all related to what it's supposed to, but rather: experiments," Serana teased. She smirked at his cocksure attitude, his smug look written in the way his brow arched at her. _"Now if only he felt the same way about me the way he does about magic."_

Gods, it was almost humiliating to be this desperate. She doubled down her effort to ignore these thoughts and feelings. Was he having an agonizing internal battle like her too?

"Experiments is exactly what magic is supposed to be used for," he scoffed playfully. "That's what magic should always be about: a dance, an art form."

_"Only to him, just to be closer to his mother. I suppose I don't have much room to tease or judge if I got into alchemy to be closer to mine."  
_

"Not a tool and weapon of war, to harm others," Graven continued. "But to open the mind and survey all the wonders in all the realms we can venture to. Of course, self-defense is unavoidable, and that's a shame. If more people spent less time swinging swords and more time exploring their curiosities and ambitions, I feel like life would be a lot more peaceful."

"But sometimes a person's ambition is to be a skilled warrior. They take pride in it. Being a warrior is practically Skyrim's culture for as long as I remember," Serana shrugged. "You can't force your philosophy on people just because you don't like their philosophy."

"I don't intend to force anything, but I can introduce and encourage a new way of thinking."

"On people who are skeptical of magic? You yourself said the Nords don't take kindly to you or anyone else who shares your skin color. Magic and a race they don't trust-"

Graven pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder, which stopped her in her tracks, and murmured into her skin. "I can still try." He gently wove his fingers in her bangs and watched her through the mirror as he steamed the strands, straightening them as he combed her hair back. She hummed her response, indulging in the sensations. Her eyes slipped shut as he continued to coax her hair through his fingers, fixing it into place with small bursts of frost magic. Such a predictable man, now anyways, now that she has learned what motivated him.

_"Why do I stand against him? It's not like I disagree that his philosophy isn't nice, bearing some truth to it. But it's not realistic. His head is in the clouds."_

It wasn't particularly fair to rain that down on him though. Just as she was about to say so and explain her side of things, his whisper flooded her ear. "Thank you for challenging me. It is important to consider many facets of thinking and you have given me something to ponder. Left unchallenged, we do not grow."

Serana smiled small. She turned in his arms and wound hers around his shoulders, damning the gown as she leaned forward to kiss him. Knocks interrupted their moment.

"Lady Serana?" It was the old seamstress again. "We have returned with the new blood's outfit. Lord Harkon also said he wishes to speak with you privately, before the party starts."

Graven and Serana exchanged a concerned look, but she couldn't think of what was wrong. Her nerves twinged with annoyance. _"It's about the elder scroll, no doubt."_

Reflex pushed her cheeks out in a smile when he stole a quick kiss and dissuaded her aggravation, winking at her. "I'll see you at the party, Yi Ara Sera-Sera."

Serana rolled her eyes. She inspected her hair as she turned her head from side to side and hummed, pleased, at the new odd image of herself, but it wasn't odd in a particularly bad way. _"Like him."_ She stifled a smile to herself at that thought as she reluctantly put her choker back on, then head for the door. "I'm not a queen, Graven."

The quietest choke shot out behind her. She smirked at his little mumble.

"How did you...?"

She didn't enlighten him with an answer, for an answer was something she was still seeking herself. The only way she'd have heard and known that word was if he said it to her while he was awake and she asleep, and it wormed it's way into her dream. It made her feel strange inside at the thought that he watched her as she slept, but she didn't put it past him to do something like that.

Serana left him at the mercy of the seamstresses when she allowed them into her room and bid her farewell to the nervous dunmer with a playful wave. _"He definitely looks uncomfortable now. I wonder what his outfit will look like though? I should've stolen a peek." _

It wasn't fair that he indulged in her discomfort. Now she had to restrain herself from any such fun during the party, lest prying eyes and ears destroy Graven with the deadly side effects of rumor and conjecture. She hoped she could find an escape to the party as soon as it started, but she knew from personal experience the weight and length of her chains.

Graven's voice eked into her thoughts and left her with a sour taste.

_"When somebody dreams, it's things like how they want to be a valorous warrior, or run a successful store. You dream of the two things you should have always had: choice and freedom."_

The dream. It wouldn't get out of her mind. **He **wouldn't get out of her mind. It played on repeat, a broken cycle, where each memory that crossed her mind left her wanting for more.

_"Memory..." _Serana strolled down the expansive hallway towards father's room. There was something that didn't sit right with her, and she glanced down at her hands. She poked her palm. The finger didn't go through. She remembered a thing or two about that in every lucid dream too. _"Why is it that every time he appears in my dreams, my finger doesn't transcend through my palm? It's impossible for reality to be in a dream, especially a dream of my own conjuration. Could it have anything to do with those runes on him? Does the magicka in them bring a piece of Mundus to the dream, or does it function as a tether, preventing him from venturing too far in his dream state? I should ask him what dreams are like for him whe-"  
_

"Ah, my dear daughter." Harkon's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up and returned the fake smile he gave her as he waved dismissively in a gesture to her dress. He rose from his chair by the fireplace, where creaks shot out and chased after him as he approached her. "Lovely as always."

"Thank you, father." She regarded his tailored outfit, predictably adorned with ornaments representing vampirism and the cursed Lord that ruled over their entire lives. Molag Bal. If only there were a way to break free from his chains. She had to focus and play her dutiful part, whether that be act or habit. "Your outfit is quite fetching as well. The seamstress did a good job."

"That she did. She's done well styling your dress and your hair as well." Harkon's tone was flippant as if he didn't care, but was just saying the words, all of them just a shell with nothing inside. Not a surprise. "Come with me, there's something I want to show you." Harkon held out his arm, and she forced herself to hook her hand on the inside of his elbow, ignoring the pressure of her wretched dress getting in the way of coming closer. Not that that was an actual issue, when she'd rather be anywhere but here.

Harkon lead her to the courtroom. They hung by the railing overlooking it all, where several dressed vampires had exaggerated gasps upon her entrance. Their hushed murmurs, compliments and speculations fell on deaf ears. She wasn't the least bit interested, but she was growing antsy the longer father took to get to the point.

_"Out with it. Just say you want the elder scroll already, ask me where I hid it."_

"Bring it in!" Harkon boomed, voice thundering in every nook and cranny. She winced at the volume, but it bled out to the white noise as the gate opened at the far end.

He didn't need to ask. He already **had** the elder scroll.

Serana masked her annoyance as best as she could. A servant swung by with goblets on a regale gold platter and she helped herself to one, swishing the crimson liquid inside to concentrate on that rather than the heavy hand that fell on her shoulder, squeezing her. It was cold and heartless, the opposite of the other hand that was on her minutes ago. Harkon sung her praises for returning with the elder scroll and the court cheered, and she swished the liquid faster. Scarlet blood called out to her and she helped herself, struggling to keep composed and graceful.

Telltale footsteps echoed down the hallway she had come from, and she looked over with hope to be saved from this. She soon found herself struggling to mask her amusement as the masked stranger was herded down into the courtroom with all the other vampires, where all he could do was usher his own looks of hope to be saved from this.

_"He must be regretting his decision to stay here now. This is amazing."_ Serana indulged in his discomfort, echoing his favorite words and stealing them to be her own. _"Of course." _A wicked smile tugged the corner of her lips and she had to remind herself of etiquette before she leaned on the railing and mockingly sipped at her drink. _"Then again, etiquette doesn't mean anything to me anymore."_

It didn't stop her from listening to the voice that urged her to be a good and obedient daughter. She damned that conscience.

Serana counted down the seconds until father's prancing speech was over, but duty and safety could afford no such reprieve. No matter what, she couldn't afford to show any sort of favoritism towards Graven, or too many would see that as a personal affront or a challenge to compete for her attention and graces. If only they understood she cared nothing for boasts or power. A subtle smile plucked her mouth again at a thought.

_"I care only for magic. Of course."_

The party swung to the predictable extremes as thralled bards and lavish feasts were brought into play. Serana was forced to entertain vampires that came up to her to issue cheap compliments and congratulations upon her safe return... of the elder scroll, of course. She watched over Graven whenever she could afford to sneak a look and often found relief that he didn't appear to be in distress, but rather, actually enjoying himself.

_"Then again, he's sunk his teeth into Garan. One guess what those two are talking about." _Serana inwardly rolled her eyes. _"I'm starting to sense a pattern among dunmer men. I wonder what Garan thinks of Graven's mixed blood with an altmer, if he's figured it out? He never bore much tolerance for Vingalmo or altmer in general." _

A question for another time. Hopefully a time that would come soon. For now, she held on valiantly and would just gander over at the gaudy ornamental mask Graven likely was coerced into wearing to distinguish his new blood status. She was thoroughly entertained how it seemed to give him trouble to drink from his goblet normally.

_"Blood, or wine?" _

Another question for another time, hopefully a time that would**n't** come soon. She was hesitant to learn how he was taking to the new blood that coursed through his veins.

It felt like an era passed before she found an opening to approach him, when Garan had left. She nonchalantly strode in his general direction and when their eyes connected, she gave a subtle nod towards the dining table to help herself to snacks of actual food rather than bloodied raw meat. He saddled up beside her, a smile dancing on the half of his face she could still see. She tried to pick up the smell of his breath to figure out what his choice of drink was earlier. His tone had a subdued quirky jolliness to it and her brain immediately flagged it as a tease. "Pray tell, are you enjoying yourself, Lady Serana?"

"I am," she murmured, struggling to keep the smirk off her face and the eyes on the food she collected on her small dish. "You appear to be as well." She glanced over at him, hoping he could read the question in her eyes. _"Is it just an appearance, or is it genuine? Sometimes I still can't tell with you."_

Graven seemed stunned by such a stare, and his smile slipped away in favor of a more contemplative look. He stole a quick peek over his shoulder to gauge who might be eavesdropping. His smile returned when he looked back at her, nodding. "I am. I've surprised myself with how comfortable I am, actually, for I never thought I would fit in in these types of parties."

_"Is that the truth, or are you just being careful with your words?" _Her worries wouldn't cease. She would find out in due time, but she wanted that time to be now. That was robbed of her when another vampire made way for the buffet table and helped themselves down the line alongside Serana and Graven. The two stifled their smiles but shared knowing mischievous looks, as if they were doing something terrible and getting away with it.

_"Well, we kind of are. It only takes one offended vampire vying for my hand to issue a challenge."_

They lingered and pretended to struggle with what else they wanted on their own little platter, until the vampire had left. Graven inched closer, but the blasted dress kept him at bay.

"I could be on your arm just to ward off suitors for this party," he whispered lowly, a devious brow raised. "It'll be like the other times you had a friend to help."

"If you weren't a new blood, I would say yes." Serana glued her gaze to her food, feeling a bit of heat collect at the base of her throat for some reason. "But it would be offensive for me to take a new blood, even if it was just for one night. The court would feel personally attacked by both you and me, since we both should know better."

"Couldn't I say I didn't know?"

"You could. Nobody would believe you, because it's my duty to inform you." Serana fidgeted with a small slice of cheese before she popped it in her mouth, using it to muffle her words. "If not me, someone else would. Viciously. I prefer you in one piece, thank you."

"Thank you, I prefer me in one piece too," Graven chuckled. He too did the same and popped a slice of cheese in his mouth. "We could just slip away from the party."

Serana looked up at the ceiling in thought, idly studying the majestic chandeliers that adorned the courtroom. She hummed. "Not at the same time, though."

Why was she even behaving like this? She didn't bear love for the theatrics and the politics, but neither did she want to take an unnecessary risks. It's not like she sought the approval for her relationship, if this was a relationship. _"Whatever this is between us."_

"Are we still just staying long enough to find out the plan, then escape?" Graven mumbled in between bites.

Serana had to stop herself from outright staring at him and shoved another slice of cheese in her mouth. _"Still? The only time that was discussed was in my dream..."_

Something wasn't right. She finished her food and as she set the dirty dish aside, she quickly prodded her palm to see if her finger would go through. It didn't. What was even a dream or reality anymore? She picked up a small cloth and forced a small smile to Graven, cutting their eye contact as she strode past him. She dabbed her mouth with the cloth to hide her lips and her words. "Come to my room in an hour. I will excuse myself to my father right now, but you must stay and mingle before finding a way to sneak out. Make sure nobody sees you and that plenty of drinks have circulated among them beforehand."

Graven didn't say anything, but nodded subtly and bowed in deference. With him facing towards her, she could smell every word in his breath.

"It was a pleasure and humbling to be in your company, Lady Serana."

For an act, he did remarkably and convincingly well throughout this party, almost as if he was now in his element. _"Just like when he first took me into his home with Erandur." _That thought left a sour taste her mouth, just like the question that slowly began to probe her mind more often. Not what was even a dream or a reality anymore, but...

_"Who is the real Graven?"_

She smelled blood on his breath.

* * *

Author's Note

Thanks to everyone who's been following along and supporting me, and special thanks to SeraphimicDestiny for the reviews as well as being an awesome inspirational writer!

I highly recommend picking up "A New Dawn" if you haven't already, and it's just been completed as well. It's the story that inspired me to start writing myself :)

Hope to see you next chapter, stay safe everyone and thanks again!


	20. Chapter 20

Restless was an understatement, and that bothered Serana more than it should. She paced, convincing herself she wasn't pacing.

_"I'm not," _a stubbornly familiar thought persisted.

She took off the choker, thumb nicking the tusk of Molag Bal. It prompted a glare and a heavy sigh. She set it down on her table, hands running down the sewn swords of her corset ballgown. _"I can't wait to get out of this. Where in Oblivion is Graven? He should have already been here an hour ago. Has it been an hour? If only I had a moon dial like mother's."_

Serana paced.

_"I'm not." _

Her thoughts were not kind to her, apart from their obstinate inclination. She couldn't get rid of the memory that nagged her the most: the smell of blood on Graven's breath. Yes, it was perfectly reasonable that a newly blooded vampire would in fact seek the very sustenance they need if they do not wish to grow feral and mindless with blood lust, especially since the craving would hit hard. It took years of self-reflection and meditation in order to control or ignore such a powerful craving, but what she needed to know was **where** he acquired that sustenance. She never saw him feast on a thrall, but what if he stole a taste?

_"He's... a very curious individual. I wouldn't put it past him and his love for experiments." _The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.

And the word experiment.

_"Ugh."_

Distant noises caught her ears. Loud noises. _"Sounds like someone's yelling..." _Serana not-paced to the door, wondering if she should go investigate. She had already excused herself to her father and rebuffed several irritating suitors vying for her hand on her way out of the court. There was one irritating man that was supposed to be vying for her hand right now and he wasn't bloody here.

_"What's taking him so long?"_

Every second ticking by was aggravating her beyond belief, especially when the yells didn't subside. It didn't seem angry, nor panicked. Baffling. There was no such thing as good-natured merriment, lest the vampires receive some sort of spectacular feast of decadent thralls, but father would have put a stop to that the moment she left. There was no more need for him to show off for her anymore.

Familiar footfalls finally graced her senses. She not-paced closer to the door, holding her breath when the final foot fell and cast a shadow under the sliver of her door's frame. She bit her tongue and waited on the cheery knocks. She didn't know why she was waiting.

"Lady Sera-Sera? Might I humbly ask for permission to enter?"

Serana rolled her eyes. _"He's never going to stop that even if it were part of my eulogy. Wonderful." _She subtly cleared her throat and her mouth opened. Then closed. She smirked. "Yes, you may ask."

There was a slight hitch of breath on the other side of the door. It fueled her smirk, and her inner mischievous devil.

Graven played along, much to her amusement. And expectation. "Very well. Then, with humility and utmost deference Lady Sera-Sera, do I have permission to enter?"

Enough time was wasted on the games. Yes, she was allowed to change her mind and suddenly be impatient. Memory reminded her of priorities, after all. She opened the door and stole a swift peek out and down the hallway. Nobody was there or watching. _"Safe." _She grabbed Graven's wrist and roughly pulled him in, taking in a deep breath to smell the air when he yelped in surprise.

_"Blood. Blood is all over his breath."_

She needed to take matters in her own hands and confront him quickly before he deduced what it was she was seeking, and so literally took matters in her own hands. She bumped the door closed with her hips as she wrestled off Graven's mask and manually wrenched his mouth open with her hand, ignoring his gibberish sounds of confusion and discomfort. She stared long and hard at his teeth and dismissed his squirming, though he soon quieted down and peered at her inquisitively.

"'Hecking why eegh?" Graven asked seriously.

Serana gave him a look and removed her hand, wiping the saliva off his jacket.

He tried again after a swallow, striding to her vanity for a cloth to wipe his mouth. "Checking my teeth? Are they exhibiting some sort of anomaly?" He checked himself in the mirror, stealing glances of uncertainty at her when she remained silent as she gauged what to say to him. She reluctantly chose the truth and approached the vanity.

"No, they aren't. I just smelled blood." Serana broke away from the eye contact through the mirror's reflection and busied herself with studying his regale suit, where there were surprisingly ornate patterns engraved on the vest beneath his jacket. _"The seamstresses did a good job on his too, even though he's a new blood. Was it father's request that they remain attentive in their worksmanship?"_

Silence fell between them. It tempted and taunted her to look up and at him to prompt an answer, but she feigned indifference and left him alone to his thoughts to figure out what might be her concern. Though she wasn't one for games. What was it about him that encouraged her to play them, then?

Finally, after an excruciatingly long minute, he broke the disquiet between them with a gentle question. "I assume you postulated that I fed on someone?"

Serana nibbled the inside flesh of her cheek. She subtly nodded, somewhat tinged with guilt, now that she discovered the truth for herself. She wasn't a woman who was so uncertain, and displayed such behavior. It irritated her that she was, so plain for anyone to see regardless if they possessed the gift of perception or not. She fought to roll her eyes when Graven turned and scooped up her hands in his.

_"Here comes this fool's foolish fairy tale notions of romance..." _

Let it never become known to him that maybe, just maybe, there was the slightest possibility that she enjoyed the occasional cliché thing coming from his mouth.

"Rest easy, Sera. I didn't," he tenderly assured. "It was a goblet Garan had offered me. I saw no choice but to accept, so as not to rouse any suspicions among anyone. I had a pleasant conversation with him, but I was aware he was analyzing and getting a read on me." His thumbs massaged circles around her middle knuckle bones. "Truthfully, I was not as repulsed as I thought I would be, and I had not deluded myself into thinking it was wine."

"That's because you need blood," Serana murmured, tone laced with guilt and disappointment. She came as close to him as her blasted ballgown allowed her, angling awkwardly and forcing past discomfort to rest her head against his chest. It was just to hide her face from him for the most part. She felt what her tone did to his body, now tensing.

"Are you concerned I'll take to vampirism favorably?" Graven asked, loosely wrapping his arms around her shoulders. A hand lazily played with her hair, sending pleasant tingles throughout her scalp. She burrowed harder against his chest after a decisive nod. His hum reverberated deep in his chest and buzzed against her cheek. "I've taken to it well, only because in my experience, taking things poorly will only lead to a poorer mentality of it all. I may as well try to make the best of it, but I won't forget why I'm here in the first place."

Graven withdrew with a hopeful smile. "I am here to be better company than the demons lurking in the shadows. At least, that is my goal. Am I doing decently?"

Serana smirked. "I suppose this is better than a dancing skeleton."

"Ouch, you wound me," he chuckled. "Though I don't deny a dancing skeleton would be tough to compete against."

Without another word nor tease, he suddenly detracted from the path they were taking and instead took her hands to lead her towards the bed, where her heart paced.

_"I'm not."_

Intentions. What were his intentions? The question balled up in her throat, thickening and closing. He broke free from her hands to shed his jacket and vest, which were soon abandoned on her desk. He pulled to untuck his shirt and she stopped him from unbuttoning it. His brow arched with confusion.

"Is there an issue, Serana?"

She fought the urge to lick her drying lips. "What are you doing?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I wouldn't be asking if it was," she drawled with a bite of sarcasm.

"Oh." Graven looked over his shoulder at the bed. He strode to it, unbuttoning his shirt despite her earlier silent plea not to. Oblivious man. He still didn't enlighten her.

_"He could do that any day now, preferably before he strips down to his loincloth and conjures more delusions."_

Graven tossed his shirt aside with the others. He shrugged as he ungracefully toed off his boots and socks, then hopped on her bed with his limbs sprawled. He patted the empty space beside him with a genuinely innocent smile. "If there is nothing else occupying your mind, then I once again cordially invite you to a nap with me."

Serana hesitated. She looked down at her sophisticated dress and frowned. "This cursed dress will take forever and I'm not sure if I'll be summoned in the court again."

"Why would you be? Your father already has his elder scroll."

That stung. Serana's scowl deepened. She sighed and crossed her arms at him. "Which means we need to find out what he's going to do with it and then take it away from him."

"But... after our nap, yes?"

Oh, the misguided hope in his voice. The puppy eyes. The persistent hand still rubbing tantalizing circles on the big comfy bed.

It was almost enough to stray her from duty.

"No. We need to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible, Graven."

"Then why did we come here?"

It was an earnest question borne from confusion. Truthfully, even she didn't know. She was being pulled by hundreds of different thoughts and feelings that it was almost impossible to sort through half of them. She missed the days where things actually made sense.

_"Especially the things in my mind."_

Serana shrugged as her answer. He would just have to be content with that.

Graven groaned. "But I'm tired. All that socializing and scheming was more exhausting than doing battle with a **dragon.**"

"Welcome to what was my whole life," she chuckled. "I don't miss it one bit, but we're going to have to play the court's games, at least for a little bit. Now come on."

Before she got the chance to stray far from the bed, Graven rolled quickly to the edge and snatched her hand. His puppy eyes were at full force now. She gave him an amused look, shaking her head, but she didn't deny that she was tempted to take a nap.

_"Maybe I'll finally get to the bottom of these strange dreams."_

On that note, she wondered if she should confront him about that too. The whole thing with the blood on his breath made her lean towards the nagging negative predisposition that he might just be saying whatever she wants to hear to comfort her.

_"I know what I saw. Or didn't see, anyways. There was no... meat... stuck between his teeth. But he does have a complicated relationship with honesty. Well, he used to, anyways..."_

Serana conceded with a not-so-reluctant sigh, but overplayed it as such so Graven wouldn't get any ideas that she was caving in so easily. Otherwise he would get ideas that duty wasn't as obligatory as it was... well. Supposed to be. But now it wasn't, just because of a blasted nap. Priorities. She tapped her dress with her free hand.

"Let me change out of this first, then I'll join you."

"Deal," Graven beamed. "Would you like help? I won't look, I promise."

Warmth tinged the deepest recesses of her throat. She didn't trust her voice and shook her head, taking off to hide behind the privacy wall divider. She knew it would take her longer to deal with the dress herself, but it was the price to save her modesty. Not that she didn't trust Graven to keep his word, at least for this, but she would never forget his five-finger discounted purchase on her bra, and his embarrassing hypothesizing thereafter. She felt awkward working away in silence, fabric rustling, and wasn't sure if it was helping or worsening the situation when Graven began to whistle a quiet tune. He broke the awkwardness between them, but only to inject a different kind of awkwardness in her.

"You know, that Garan fellow is a very interesting character. Though, I have to ask, why were you so inquisitive of dunmer history and culture with me and Erandur, when you had Garan right there for basically, oh, I don't know. Your whole life?"

Serana's cheeks throbbed. "I didn't know he was a dunmer."

"You- _what?_ First of all: the skin color is a dead giveaway. Second of all: he was your teacher for the School of Destruction, was he not?"

That second point piqued her interest, and she conveniently ignored the first. She stopped wrestling with her corset and straightened to listen carefully. "How do you figure?"

"Puh-lease," Graven huffed with telltale pride. "Even a novice could tell. Every single one of your theories is an exact copy of his."

"You know, his theories could be a copy of mine. Do you know how old either of us are?"

"He's definitely older than you. Definitely." There was a slight pause, and then mischievous levity injected in his tone, his words dancing. "I know my dunmer history, unlike someone."

"Shut up," Serana mumbled. "I never had time to talk to him after our lessons. And... he was always distant, sort of. He's loyal to the Lord of the court, whomever that may be."

"So you kept him at arm's length, because of your father?"

She didn't answer him. It may as well have been the most obvious rhetorical question to have ever existed - for she kept everyone in the court at arm's length.

Graven hummed to break the silence. "Well, I know one thing for sure. He's a good teacher. You're proof of that."

"I could just have been a good student and studied his theories on my own," she lilted, smirking. She looked over at the privacy wall, more so to check he wasn't around the corner to peek, reminding herself that she could hear his _breathing_ at the bed. Her bold innuendo fell short when Graven didn't seem to catch on.

"Mm, that is a very fair answer indeed. You know one of these days, I should teach you my theories. We could run experiments. Trial and error is my favorite kind."

A beat. His voice lowered.

"That way we can make discoveries on the spot and apply our techniques accordingly, testing what we're learning on each other."

...Or maybe he did catch on.

Serana almost choked. Audibly. She was a little stuck on his words, too busy to think up her own words as a suitable comeback. She renewed her efforts to get out of the bloody corset squeezing the life out of her and unlaced it with practiced speed. It was the corset's fault that she couldn't think of anything. That was it. That was the story she was going to go with, anyways. It'd help her sleep better later.

_"Sleep. I'm going to be sleeping beside him, after all of this." _

Serana grew uncomfortable at the thought. She coached herself that it was just going to be like before. She trusted Graven not to make any indecent moves, especially when he worked doubly hard to facilitate trust between them even with their history and penchant for distrust. She smiled a little when he coughed, his quirky awkwardness showing painfully clear.

"Uh... was that a bit too much, Sera?"

She didn't have the heart to answer. Truthfully, she didn't have the mind to answer - the mind made up, that is. There was something jolting and thrilling, a strange dynamic to it all, that unhinged her in good and bad ways. She focused on changing into casual attire that would be comfortable sleeping in, but also react quickly should an unprecedented situation arise with unwanted visitors at the door. She withdrew from the privacy wall with a complacent smile forced into place, one which grew into a genuine one at the sight of a nervous man sitting up on the edge of the bed, running his hand through his hair and rubbing his nape.

_"I see his tics are hard at work again."_

It was no small measure of amusement gained. She approached the bed and, just to be clear and certain, she idly reached behind her to hide her hands. She poked her finger into her palm. It didn't go through. This was reality, to be sure.

_"Good."_

Serana strode before him, taking comfort that at least she wasn't the only one who felt like a fish out of the sea. Boldness guided her hands and she cupped Graven's jaw to encourage him to look up at her, rather than everywhere but. She could relate. She wanted to do the same, but there was a small part inside of her that screamed for a connection. But it was terrifying. But everything terrifying in her life couldn't be run away from. She had to face it at some point. She had to run to it instead.

"What was a bit too much?" Serana whispered huskily.

It ignited something in his eyes. There was always a tamed _hunger_ in them, even before vampirism. She wanted him to be honest, to be confident, to be the first to confess what was actually on his mind, rather than masking it like her. She couldn't find it in her to tell him all of that directly, though, as if afraid it would unleash something she wasn't actually ready for.

Graven seemed to be searching her eyes, whether it be mercy or help, she couldn't quite tell. Both were equally entertaining notions though.

He smirked ever so slightly, but it screamed answers. Quirky, up to no good, corners of lips curling in pure devilishness that seemed to say her challenge was accepted.

And issued one of his own.

"My honesty. Do you think you can handle it, Yi Ara?"

* * *

Author's Note

Well I'm semi-back! Just a short chapter to finally break out of my hiatus. This year has been super crazy, and I hope everyone's been staying safe. I've had a nasty bit of luck with work and covid but everything is slowly settling down now and the pieces are kind of sort of falling together.

I've recently picked up elder scrolls online though and it's proven to be a scary-fast time consumer, but finally sitting down to hammer this chapter out in a few hours has reminded me just how much I miss writing. I apologize if it's chock full of mistakes as it is very very early in the morning but I just could not sleep until I got this out lol. It will for sure be cleaned up once I edit this with refreshed eyes and will update it tomorrow night!

I've also sent out a request to be invited to AO3 so once I figure out how that whole formatting works, I'll be publishing this story on there as well if there are readers that prefer the AO3 layout instead. Huge thanks to Asphaleia-I for the suggestion and for taking the time to tell me what's what when it comes to using AO3!

Hope to see you in the next chapter/on AO3. Stay safe everyone!

**Reminder: Yi Ara translates to "My Queen" but it's not yet been revealed what language it is. Serana first heard Graven say it as well as instinctively learned it's meaning during one of her dreams. He does say it in reality and she reveals she knows what it means, stunning him since he's never told her. This plays a major part in the near future, can you guess why? Hope you have fun with your theorizing :)  
**


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